Love and War
by Mogo Girl
Summary: When an old friend of Hawke's from the war turns up, it stirs up a lot of feelings for Hawke, including jealousy when he realizes that Cait and his friend seem to have formed a mutual attraction. Can Hawke stand aside when his own feelings for Cait get in the way and what happens when he realizes his friend may have ulterior motives? All's Fair in Love and War!
1. Chapter 1

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

_A/N: And a new story begins. Of course this one will include a Hawke and Cait relationship but with a little twist. I'm starting out with Hawke being more of the pursuer than Cait. Poor Cait is almost always portrayed as the girl out to get her man…even by me. I thought it might be nice to see it the other way around for a change ;o). And a new bad guy for this story…I figured we've all had enuf of Horn to last us a while…lol. Please don't forget to review if you like it (or even if you don't) and let me know what you think. I love hearing your opinions and, honestly, it keeps me and the muse motivated._

**Chapter 1**

"Dammit!" Caitlin O'Shannessy cursed as she dropped the wrench she had been using to tighten the bolts of the Tyler Mount on the Santini Air Chopper. The Santini Air crew was due to perform a movie stunt later that afternoon and Caitlin had been making sure that the mount used for the camera was secure and ready to go.

"Caitlin? You okay?" Stringfellow Hawke asked with concern as he looked down from the top of the same machine where he had been performing routine maintenance on the top rotor.

Holding her right hand in front of her as she inspected the scraped skin on her knuckles she jumped out of the chopper. "Yeah, I'll be all right. The damn bolt was stripped. The wrench slipped and I banged my knuckles. I'll just go wash it off and get a couple of band aids. I think I'll live."

"Well that's good, I don't want to have to do this stunt all by myself," Hawke said with a slight smile.

Turning around, Cait picked up a greasy rag and threw it at her co-worker. "Nice to know you care, Stringfellow Hawke."

"No problem," he said as he ducked away from the rag flying in his direction.

Hawke chuckled as he took a minute to watch the pretty redhead walk away from him towards the office where the first aid kit was located. Since Caitlin had showed up at Santini Air things sure had been different, especially for Hawke. Something about the spunky Texan had really helped lighten the mood around the hangar and even the usually stoic and forboding Stringfellow Hawke had found himself smiling and laughing a lot more.

"_And the scenery around here is a lot better, too," _the pilot thought to himself as he watched her disappear into the office. Although he had yet to make a move in the year or so since Cailtin had shown up at their doorstep looking for one Stringfellow Hawke and his "monster machine", as she had called Airwolf, the world's most technically advanced helicopter that Hawke and his mentor, Dominic Santini, flew on missions for The Firm, he had found himself becoming more and more attracted to her.

The only thing that had stopped him from officially asking her out was that Hawke had a bad track record with people he got too close to, especially women. His work with The Firm often led him into extremely dangerous situations and that danger often spilled over onto the ones he loved. Hawke often felt he was cursed and that anyone he got close to would die. History had supported his theory more than once. He cared too much for Caitlin to want anything like that to happen to her, especially if it was his fault.

"_Can't very well use that excuse anymore though, can I?" _String thought to himself. Over the last several months, Caitlin had been incorporated as a member of the Airwolf crew herself and was now often included in The Firm missions. She had proved herself to be one damn good pilot and very capable of taking care of herself in dangerous situations. She was, after all, a former Texas Highway Patrol Woman and was very skilled in hand-to-hand combat techniques with a black belt in karate. She had even been responsible for saving Hawke's own life more than once.

"_Maybe it's time to think about moving things to another level," _Hawke mused .

"Earth to String_". _The sound of Dom's raised voice broke Hawke out of his thoughts and he turned to find the older man staring up at him from beside the chopper.

"What is it, Dom?" the younger pilot responded with annoyance. He wasn't mad at Dom, he just didn't like being caught unawares. Hawke was known for his super-sensitive hearing and it wasn't often that he let anyone surprise him.

"Sheesh, where were you kid?" Dom asked as he watched String climb down from the top of the copter. "I must have said your name three times before you heard me. You okay?"

'Yeah, I'm fine….just had something else on my mind I guess. What's up?" he asked wanting to change the subject before Dom got too curious. He loved the older man like a father but he also knew if Dom ever got wind of what Hawke had just been thinking about, he'd never hear the end of it. The jolly Italian was an incurable romantic and was never adverse to a little match making. Hawke decided that if and when he decided to ask Caitlin out, he'd rather it be on his own terms.

"Oh, well yeah, "Dom stammered, not convinced that he shouldn't press Hawke a little harder, but decided that could wait for now. "There's someone here asking for you…says he's an old Vietnam buddy. I found him out front, admiring the old Stearman."

"Yeah?" Hawke asked as he cocked on eyebrow showing that his curiosity was piqued. "Did he give you a name?"

"Well that's where it get's kind of strange. He said just to tell you that 'Birdie' was here."

"Did you say, 'Birdie?', Hawke asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

"That's what he said.," Dominic said.

"Well, I'll be damned," Hawke said as he pulled his sunglasses out of his shirt pocket and put them on. "Dom, wait here…I'll be right back," he said as he headed out of the hangar in search of his friend.

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW AW**

"If you're looking for feathers in that engine, you're not going to find any," Hawke said as he approached a man who was bent over the antique Stearman that Santini often used in stunts. "I prefer to fly around the birds instead of through them."

The brown haired, green eyed man who appeared a few years older than String stood up and turned around to glare at Hawke. Well, Moondoggie, why don't you just get your surfboard and head back to the beach and leave the flying to us grownups?" he responded.

The two men stood staring at each other, each waiting to see who would be the first to back down when they suddenly both broke into smiles and laughter.

"Jack Haynes, good to see you!" Hawke said as he removed his sunglasses and stepped over to give the man a hearty handshake.

"You too, String…it's been a long time!" the man said as he gave String a friendly slap on the back. "Gotta be eleven years or more."

"1972- Quang Tri." Hawke stated matter of factly.

Nodding his head in agreement, Jack's eyes clouded over with the memory of the Vietnamese battle. "Yeah, those were harrowing times."

"To say the least," Hawke responded. "So, what brings you here? Last I heard you were still military, putting in your 20 years."

"Twenty-two to be exact. Just retired," Haynes advised. "Didn't know what to do with myself after I got out so I thought I'd look up some old friends, you know? I started off looking for your brother, but was told Sinjin never made it out. I'm sorry to hear it, String."

Hawke's eyes dropped to the ground at the mention of his brother's name. Saint John, known as Sinjin to family and close friends, was still listed as an MIA from the war. It was the reason that Hawke had agreed to perform missions for The Firm, in exchange for any information they may be able to provide to Saint John's whereabouts. So far, although there had been a couple of close calls, any attempts to find him had been unsuccessful.

"Yeah, well I haven't given up." String said. "Now, why don't you come inside. I'd love to introduce you to a couple of people."

As Hawke and Jack entered the hangar, Dom and Caitlin came out of the office and met them halfway.

"Dom, Cait…I'd like you to meet Jack Haynes. We flew together in 'Nam."

"Dominic Santini...I used to hear a lot about you from String and Saint John back during the war. They said you taught them everything they know about flying…nice to finally meet you, sir." Jack said as he extended his hand to the older pilot.

"Nice to meet you, son" Dominic said with one of his trademark gap-toothed grins as he returned the handshake.

"And, Caitlin was it?" Jack asked as he turned his attention to the pretty redhead. "And just what is it that you do here?"

"Yeah, Caitlin. And I'm a pilot, mechanic, flight instructor…you know, pretty much whatever the guys need me to do!" she answered as she took a good look at the man that stood before her. _"Wow, nice looking guy," _she thought to herself.

"Well, if there's one thing I have to admit, it's that the Hawke brothers always did surround themselves with the prettiest women around. Nice to see some things haven't changed," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh," Caitlin stammered as she started to blush. "Well, thank you."

After a few seconds of awkward silence…Hawke decided he'd better move things along. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't like the way that Caitlin and Jack were looking at each other. As much as he hated to admit it, he might have even been feeling a little jealous, not that he had a right to, he surely didn't have any claim on Caitlin.

"Listen, Jack…I'd love to spend some time with you but we're about to head off to a job. You going to be around for a while?"

"Yeah. I was just going to head back to the hotel and clean up but hadn't thought much after that."

"Great. Why don't you meet us back here at 6:00? And check out of that hotel. We had all planned to head up to my cabin for the weekend and get some R&R. Why don't you come along and I can explain to Dom where you got the name "Birdie." Hawke said with a grin.

"Sounds great but don't forget I've got a few stories myself, Moondoggie." He retorted as Dom and Caitlin suppressed giggles with the mention of the nickname. Turning to Caitlin, Jack addressed her with a sly smile. "You're coming as well, I hope?"

"I wouldn't miss hearing those stories!, " she said as she returned his smile.

"Then, Hawke, you've got yourself a house guest. I'll see you back here at 6:00." Jack confirmed as he shook the younger pilots hand and headed back out to his vehicle.

"Nice guy." Cait thought out loud as they watched him drive out of the hangar lot.

"Yeah." Hawke practically grunted as he cut his eyes over to look at Caitlin. The look on her face as she watched Jack Haynes drive out of the gates let him know that she was definitely interested in getting to know his long-lost buddy a little better. Hawke was beginning to regret his invitation to Jack to come to the cabin but it was too late to take it back now.

"We'd better get back to work. We're due on the set in two hours." Dom announced, detecting the uneasiness in String's manner. Dom had a pretty good hunch what was bothering String and figured getting back to work would hopefully get his mind off of it. _"It's about time I had a long talk with that boy," _Dom thought as he watched String walk back to the chopper and get back to his maintenance. _"If he doesn't do something, and fast, he's going to lose that girl of ours."_

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW**

Back at his hotel, Jack Haynes fished a crumpled piece of paper out of his wallet and laid it beside the phone. Dialing the number written on the paper, he waited for it to ring twice and then hung up the phone before dialing again. This time, the person on the other end picked up immediately.

"Zeus? It's me, Haynes. It's in motion. I'll check back in when I've made actual contact with Airwolf. I want the first million deposited in my Swiss account today. I'll expect the second million deposited immediately after I turn over the machine. In the meantime…don't call me, I'll call you when I have something to report. Just make sure that your people have covered my tracks and that any records that Archangel has access to confirm my stellar military career. I don't need Hawke finding out about the dishonorable discharge, got it? Haynes out," he said as he hung up the phone.

_TBC….._


	2. Chapter 2

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

**Chapter 2**

"…so I look up, and there's this chopper coming at us, a trail of fire coming out the back end and the front end covered in a mass of feathers. Strangest sight I've ever seen. How you got that chopper down, I'll never know." Hawke said with a laugh.

"I'm not sure either! I swear running into that flock of birds was like running into a brick wall. And I think I was cleaning feathers off that chopper for the next year!" Jack laughed as he sat back against the log near the campfire that Hawke had built.

After their stunt work was over earlier that day, Hawke, Caitlin, Dom and Jack Haynes had all choppered up to String's cabin where they planned to spend the weekend for some well-deserved R&R. Dinner had consisted of freshly caught fish out of the lake and the four were now all seated around the campfire enjoying wine and beer as Hawke and Jack regaled the others with stories from the war.

"So I guess that's when they started calling you, Birdie?" Caitlin asked from her seat on the ground next to Jack.

"Yeah and unfortunately it stuck. I can't thank you enough for that one, String!"

"Yeah, well you earned that one for sure,'' Hawke said with a chuckle.

"So...tell us about Hawke's nickname." Caitlin urged with a glint in her eye.

"You know, it's getting late…I think that can wait" String started but was cut off by Dom.

"Oh, no you don't! Let's hear it, Jack. What did you call him…Moondoggie?" Dom said as he shot a smile at Hawke.

"Might as well get it over with, Jack." Hawke mumbled as he turned his gaze towards the fire.

"Well, you see…when Sinjin and String first showed up in our oufit, Hawke over there was little more than a kid still wet behind the ears. And he looked like he had just walked off the set of some beach blanket bingo movie…tan, a shock of blonde hair, white teeth, blue eyes…you know the real California surfer boy. Didn't take long for someone to tag him with the name Moondoggie," Jack chuckled at the memory.

"Yeah, and how you guys kept finding surfboards in Vietnam to put in my tents, I'll never know!" Hawke chimed in with a scowl.

"Ahhh, war secrets…can't tell you buddy!" Jack laughed as Dom and Cait joined in. Even Hawke eventually broke out a smile at the memory.

For the next few minutes, the group sat silently around the fire just enjoying the night, each lost in their own thoughts. It was Jack that broke the silence. "So, Cait, I was wondering if you'd be interested in walking with me out by the lake? After dinner and wine, I think I need to stretch my legs and I'd appreciate the company."

"Oh, sure Jack. " Cait responded with a smile. "Let me just run in and grab my coat…it gets a little chilly out by the water at night," she said as she rose from her seat on the ground and headed towards the cabin.

As they watched her enter the cabin, Jack turned to Hawke. "You don't mind, do you buddy? I mean, I'm not stepping on any toes here, am I? That's a real sweet girl you guys got there and I wouldn't mind a chance to get to know her a little better but I don't want to overstep my bounds. "

"_C'mon, String," _Dominic thought as he waited for Hawke's response, _"now's your chance."_

After a slight pause, Hawke looked at Jack and shook his head. "Nah, she's great but we're just friends. Cait's a big girl and can make her own decisions. If she wants to go with you, that's fine with me."

"Great!" Jack said as he stood. "I won't keep her out too late," he said with a wink as he headed towards the cabin where Cait had come out on the porch and was waiting for him.

"Dammit, String," Dom said with a sigh as he watched Jack and Cait walk away arm in arm.

"Don't start, Dom" String cut him off. "Jack still seems like a good guy, Caitlin obviously likes him and we both know that I'm just not good for her. It's not fair for me to hold her back when I can't give her anything."

"Oh, poppycock!" Dom exclaimed as he threw the stick he'd been fiddling with into the fire. "If you're talking about the stupid curse again, you can just stop right there. Cait's been with us for over a year now and been in numerous situations she should have never come out of and yet here she is, happy and healthy. If you haven't realized by now that this curse of yours is a bunch of hogwash then I don't know what to say anymore!"

"Yeah, well how do you explain Karen and Gabrielle and SinJin? Not to mention my parents, Dom." Hawke said with a sigh. "I can't take the chance of something happening to Caitlin, too. Maybe if I keep my distance… than she'll stay happy and healthy as you put it."

"But you're in love with her, String." Dom said as the young pilot shot him a surprised look. "Yeah, String, I've known for a long time. It's not hard for even an old coot like me to put two and two together: the way you look at her, the way you always have an arm around her, the way she makes you laugh like no one else. Are you really willing to let all of that go, String?"

"It's because I love her that I have to…." String said softly as he got up and turned towards the cabin. "Now if you don't mind…I'm heading in. I've got some reading to catch up on and then I think I'll turn in early. Show Jack where the extra bedding is, will you? I'll see you in the morning, Dom."

"Mamma Mia," Dom mumbled to himself as String walked away. "That boy has the hardest head I've ever known." Taking a sip of his beer, he looked down as he felt Tet, Hawke's bluetick hound, rub against his leg. "What are we going to do with him, Tet?" Dom asked the mournful looking dog as he scratched between the animal's ears. "What's it going to take to get String to come to his senses about Cait?"

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW **

"So, Caitlin O'Shannessy, tell me about yourself. How did you a pretty girl like you end up flying choppers with the likes of Stringfellow Hawke?" Jack asked trying to sound casual as he and Caitlin walked along the edge of the lake.

"Oh, I don't know. I grew up in Texas on a large ranch and my daddy used to use a helicopter to keep an eye on all of his livestock. I remember wanting to fly from the first time I saw him go up. When I got old enough he taught me to fly and I was hooked. " Cait explained with a shrug of her shoulders. "When I learned that you could actually make a living flying helicopters for the Texas Highway Patrol, well I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Of course, my parents insisted I go to college first so I went but as soon as I could afterwards, I got my pilot's licenses and never looked back. I don't think my mother has ever forgiven my daddy for teaching me how to fly, " she said with a laugh.

"I can see where a mother might be concerned." Jack agreed. "But that doesn't explain how you got from Texas to flying stunts with Santini Air."

For just a moment, a flicker of worry crossed through Caitlin's mind as she looked at Jack. He sure was asking a lot of questions and goodness knows she had been fooled before by sweet-talking, good-looking guys who she thought were in love with her but that ended up only using her to try and get to Hawke and Airwolf. _"Surely this can't be happening again!" _she thought to herself as she tried to figure out how much to tell this relative stranger.

"_Caitlin, you're being paranoid! String wouldn't send you out here with someone he didn't trust," _she thought as her mind soon turned to her co-worker. _"And what about Hawke? You know you're in love with him but yet here you are making yourself available to someone you don't even know. Although Hawke has never given you one reason to think that he'll ever return those feelings. Maybe it's just time to move on. " _

"Caitlin?" Jack asked, snapping her out of her reverie.

"What?"

"I asked you how you had come to work for Hawke and Santini and you just kind of zoned out on me. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, Jack. It's fine. Guess I just got lost in the water. The lake really is beautiful in the moonlight, isn't it?" she asked as she attempted to sidestep Jack's questions all together. Trying to explain to someone what had happened in Pope County was hard enough but to do it without including Airwolf was near impossible and left too many unanswered questions. Avoiding the subject was the best she could do for now.

"_Well she is a tricky little thing, isn't she?_" Jack thought as he realized what Caitlin was trying to do. He had hoped that getting information out of her about Airwolf would be easy, but he could see that Santini and String had trained her well. _"No problem, I'll have plenty of time to work on her. I'll just play along for now."_

"Yes, and so are you if you don't mind me being so forward," he said as he stopped and turned to look in Caitlin's eyes. "I know we just met but would you mind so much if I kissed you?"

"_See Cait, you were just being paranoid, " _the redhaired pilot convinced herself as she looked up into the very beautiful green eyes of the man across from her, "_he's even dropped the subject all together. He doesn't know about Airwolf and you don't have to worry. Go on, take a chance…it's not like Hawke is going to get in your way."  
_

"No, Jack, I think I'd like that very much, " she said as he closed her eyes and enjoyed the romance and excitement of a first kiss with someone new.

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW**

_TBC…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or profit from Airwolf or these characters in anyway. My muse just takes them off the shelf and plays with them every so often. We always put them back at least as good as we found them. _

**Chapter 3**

The next morning Hawke awoke to the smell of fresh coffee and the sound of bacon frying in the kitchen. Getting up he slipped on a pair of jeans and a sweater and headed downstairs. Seeing Caitlin in the kitchen but no one else, he stopped on the stairway landing just watching her for a few moments. _"She looks good in my kitchen first thing in the morning" _he thought as he watched the redhead, a smile forming on his face. _"Maybe Dom's right..."_

Interrupting String's thoughts, Jack and Dom suddenly came bursting in the door, laughing raucously and carrying armloads of firewood. "Hey there, String. About time you got up!" Dom said as he spied the younger man on the steps.

"Yeah, guess I'm the last to the party," Hawke mumbled as he descended the rest of the steps and watched as Jack headed over towards Cait in the kitchen.

"Mmmmmm, smells good in here," Jack said as he leaned in and gave Cait a quick peck on the cheek. "Breakfast looks good, too" he said with a smirk as Caitlin giggled.

"Jack!" she responed in mock aggravation as she flicked the dish towel she was holding at him. "Okay, everyone, food's ready!" Cait said as she carried a large plate of scrambled eggs to the table.

Suddenly not feeling very hungry, Hawke headed towards the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of coffee. "None for me thanks," he said as he headed towards the door of the cabin. "I think I'll just take my coffee and take Tet for a walk. I'll be back in an hour or so" he announced as he held the door open for Tet and followed the dog out on the porch, closing the door behind him.

"What's with him?" Cait asked as she watched him leave, a frown forming on her face.

Dom had a feeling that he knew exactly what was wrong with Hawke. "Oh, you know how moody he can be, Cait," was all he said instead. "He'll be better after he's had his coffee and some fresh air. C'mon, you two, let's eat!"

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW**

_"Dammit, Hawke, you've got to get a hold of yourself," _String thought as he headed away from the cabin. "_You know what you told Dom last night was right, you can't give her what she needs to be happy. Maybe Jack can..." _

Hawke spent the next hour walking along the mountain ridges trying to convince himself of just that, although truth be told he wasn't doing a very good job of it. He wanted to trust Jack and, honestly, he had no reason not to but something about the way he had just shown up at Santini Air with no warning and after not having spoken with Hawke for so many years rubbed String the wrong way. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something just wasn't right.

Before he realized it, Hawke found himself back at the chopper that was parked on the pier. Climbing in, he powered up the electrical system and turned on the two-way radio. _"Well if I can't make her happy, at least I can make sure she's safe," _he thought as he tuned in The Firm frequency and called for Archangel.

"Morning Hawke," Michaels voice came back over the radio. "And what can I do for you this morning? It must be important for you to interrupt your weekend at the cabin. Nothing's wrong is it?"

"No, Michael, nothing's wrong. I just need you to run a check on someone for me," Hawke explained as he proceeded to give the spy all of the information he had on Jack Haynes.

"What am I looking for, Hawke?" Michael asked once he had all of the information from the pilot.

"I'm not sure, Michael. Maybe nothing. Just runnning a hunch. Run a full check - military, civilian, whatever Marella's got in that computer of hers. I'll call you back tomorrow and you can let me know what you find."

"So do I get to know why I'm running a check on this guy?" Michael inquired.

"Not yet, Michael. You find something...then we'll talk. Hawke out." String said as he clicked off the radio. Climbing out of the helicoper, he headed back towards the cabin. On the way back he couldn't help wondering if he hoped Michael found something or not.

_TBC..._

_A/N: Sorry for the short chapter but didn't have much time and still wanted to get something up for you. I promise a longer one tomorrow!_

_Thanks for the reviews and follows so far :) _


	4. Chapter 4

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

**Chapter 4**

"Something's not right here, sir" Marella said as she handed her boss, Archangel, the file on Jack Haynes. She had spent the last several hours running Haynes through every computer base she could think of per the request of Stringfellow Hawke.

"Why? Did you find something, Marella?" Michael asked as he flipped open the thin file and began shuffling through the pages.

"No. And that's just it, I found NOTHING. " the dark haired woman said as she perched on the corner of Archangel's desk.

"I don't understand," Michael said as he looked up at his assistant with a quizzical look.

"Let me explain. According to our records, Jack Haynes is a 22 year career military man. He spent four of those years in-country in Vietnam as a chopper pilot. However, his record is spotless…no reprimands, no injuries, no pass-overs for promotion, nothing. On the other hand, there aren't any real recommendations, commendations or honors either. Sure he moved up in rank and retired as a lieutenant-colonel but it was almost as if each promotion was just a given because he'd served his time and nothing more.

As for his personal life, he's never been married, there's no mention of children or even any significant others, he's never had so much as a speeding or parking ticket and he's never been involved in anything that would raise a red flag in any way, " Marella finished.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Michael asked. "I'm not sure I know what's bothering you, Marella. Just spit it out."

"Sir, Jack Haynes is 41 years old. He spent four years fighting a war and his whole adult life in the military. I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know anyone whose life is that vanilla, so to speak, after having those life experiences. Heck, even Dominic Santini wouldn't come out that squeaky clean in one of our background checks. I just don't buy it," Marella said as she picked up the meager folder. "I mean look at this file. I've run every type of background check I know, including a few programs I developed myself, and there's what, maybe 10 pages in this dossier? "

"I see what you mean," Archangel agreed. "You think someone has sanitized Haynes' file?"

"I'd bet on it, sir." Marella said as she nodded her head. "What really troubles me is that whoever did this must have connections very high up. I could understand one or two computer bases being cleaned but not all of them. Whoever did this has access to all sorts of highly classified information and there's only a handful of people I know that could pull it off."

"I don't think I like where this is headed, Marella," Michael said as he stood and walked over to the window behind his desk that overlooked the grounds of The Firm. "I know I don't want to hear this, but I assume you have a theory on whom this person might be?"

"Not specifically, sir but my guess is that whoever Jack Haynes has protecting him, it's most likely someone connected with The Firm. I'm not sure what other agency would have access to all of these files." Marella said as she pushed herself off of the corner of the desk and went to stand beside her boss.

"Damn!" Michael exclaimed as he pounded his cane on the floor for emphasis. "What the hell has Hawke gotten himself involved in? If he's working against someone who's actually on payroll for The Firm, this could get ugly." Adjusting his glasses, Michael turned to his assistant. "Keep on it, Marella. Hawke said he'll call me tomorrow to get any information. In the meantime, I want you to keep digging and see if you can figure out what this Haynes is hiding or who's behind the sterilization of the files."

"Yes, sir," she answered as she turned towards the door to leave.

"And Marella, be careful. I don't want anyone finding out what we're doing until we know who we're dealing with."

With a curt nod, Marella was out the door, headed back to her computers.

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW**

The rest of the weekend at Hawke's cabin had proved to be uneventful. Cait and Jack spent a lot of time hiking and exploring while Dom and String spent most of their time on the lake or cutting firewood. Hawke, while not uncivil, didn't seem to have much to say and Dom didn't push the subject of Cait with the younger man. Dom knew that when he was ready, String would talk but not before. Cait somewhat noticed String's silence too but was also used to Hawke's periods of unexplained introspection and brooding and just chalked it up as such.

Hawke was still wary and suspicious of Jack Haynes but had had to admit that there really was no reason to be. Cait seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself with him and from what String could tell there had been no actions on the part of Jack to think he had anything but the best of intentions.

"_Then why can't you get rid of this feeling in your gut that something's just not right?" _String thought to himself as he watched Cait and Jack cleaning the latest batch of fish in the kitchen. _"What are you really after Haynes?"  
_

"Hey, Hawke!" Jack called out, breaking String out of his thoughts. "Remember that time in Nam when we were on leave and went to Tokyo? Sinjin talked us into going to that little sushi place in the alley and man, was that a mistake!" Jack laughed as he continued to filet the fish in front of him. "Man, Cait, you should have seen us…Me, String and Sinjin…we were all greener than our uniforms and were sick for days! Sure wasn't funny then but looking back now, we must have been one sorry sight!"

"Yeah, I remember." Hawke said as he took a seat on one of the counter stools across from the kitchen. "Worst R&R ever. Hey, Jack…we've talked quite a bit about the war over the last couple of days, but you haven't told me much about what you've been doing since." String finally realized part of what had been bothering him. Haynes had pretty much side-stepped any questions about his life since Vietnam. Other than to say he was retired from the military, String knew practically nothing about what Haynes had been up to since.

"No?, " Jack said as he wiped his hands on a dish towel. "Well I guess there's not much to tell. I put in 22 years, retired as a Lieutenant-Colonel from the Army about two months ago and here I am."

"So where do you plan on going from here?" String asked. "Looking to fly again? Working somewhere in the private sector? "

"Oh, I don't know. Haven't thought about it much, I guess," Jack answered rather evasively. Turning to Cait, he slid his arm around her waist. "Right now, I'm a little more interested in what this lady right here has in mind. Hoping she won't mind if I decide to stick around for at least a little while longer."

"I think I like that idea, Jack," Caitlin said as she smiled back at him. "Now if you two will excuse me, I smell like fish and I'm going to take a shower." String stood and walked over to stoke the coals in the fire as Caitlin headed up the stairs to the loft.

"So what about you, Hawke?" Jack asked as he came over and sat on the couch across from the fire. "I mean I know you're running stunts and working for Santini, but what's up with your life? Anything exciting?"

"Flying movie stunts not exciting enough for you, Jack?" Hawke asked.

"Yeah, of course, String. To be honest, though, I had heard some rumors from some of the chopper pilots on base before I retired. Guess I was wondering if they were true."

"What kind of rumors?" Hawke asked as he cocked an eyebrow. _"Okay, here it comes, " _Hawke thought as he waited for Jack to continue.

"Oh, just crazy stuff, Hawke. Things about some kind of monster black helicopter with mach capabilities and how they had a pilot who flew on secret missions for the government. Your name was among the short list they always gave of pilots flying that machine. I never really believed any of it but thought I might as well ask since I have you right here. At least when you tell me I'm crazy I can tell those guys that I heard it straight from the horse's mouth, right?"

"Yeah, right" Hawke said as he studied the man seated before him. "_He's good, I'll have to give him that. Paitently waited all weekend before bringing it up so as not to seem too eager and even now claiming he doesn't believe it."_

"So, it is just crazy talk, right? " Jack prodded when Hawke didn't provide any explanations. "I mean I will tell you I heard something about a year or more ago where there was some type of prototype machine blown up by Qadaffi over in Libya. But then that may have been rumors, too. Probably where the stories all began. "

"Sounds like it to me, Jack. I mean mach speed in a helicopter? Seriously?"

"Yeah, you're probably right." Jack agreed. "It's a shame, though, isn't it? A machine like that…it sure would be something to see. "

"Yeah, I bet it would." Hawke said.

"And if anyone could fly it, I bet you could String. You always were a better pilot than the rest of us combined. Natural-born ability is what Sinjin used to call it."

"Yeah, well, I can't fly what doesn't exist." Hawke said matter of factly.

"Nope, guess not. " Jack concurred as he stood from his seat on the couch. "Well, I think I'll go and see what Dom's into down by the pier."

"Jack, wait a minute," Hawke said as he listened to make sure that the water in the shower upstairs was still running. "Before you go out there…I just want to talk to you about Caitlin for a minute."

"Great girl." Jack said.

"Yeah, Jack, she is and I don't want to see her hurt…in any way." Hawke said with an icy blue steel glare at the man that now stood across from him.

"Hawke, what are you insinuating? I asked you from the get-go if there was something going on between you two and you said no. I don't think I've done anything to make you or anyone else think that I'm out to hurt her…so what's up?"

"I don't know, Jack. I hope nothing's up but just in case, I'm letting you know right now that she's special and if I find out you've done anything to hurt her in any way, you'll regret it. Got it?"

"Does she know that you've become her self-appointed protector, Hawke?" Jack asked with irritation. "You told me the other night that she was a big girl that could make her own decisions. Maybe you should listen to your own words and then put a little trust in her. I'm sure she wouldn't be very happy to know that you're watching over her personal life with such zeal."

"He's right!" Both Jack and Hawke glanced up to see Caitlin looking down on them from the loft. Caitlin quickly tied the belt on the robe she had put on after getting out of the shower and came down the stairs. Approaching the two men, Cait turned to Jack first. "Jack, would you mind? I think I need a minute alone with Hawke."

"Nope, I'll leave you two alone. I was just headed out anyways." Stopping at the door, Jack turned back. "Hawke, just so you know, I'd never hurt her but I really don't appreciate being threatened." With that statement, Haynes headed out the door leaving Caitlin and Hawke alone in the living room.

"Hawke, what in the world did you think you were doing?" Caitlin asked.

"Look, Cait, you hardly know this guy and I haven't seen him since the war. He was a good guy then but a lot can happen in 12 years. And I've got a funny feeling about him."

"A funny feeling? What the hell does that mean, Hawke? Do you have proof or anything concrete that says he's out to hurt to me? Dammit, Hawke, do you have so little respect for my judgment that you have to butt into my personal life and play white knight to save me because you don't think I can take care of myself or make my own decisions?"

"Caitlin, you know that's not true." Hawke said, his heart aching as he saw a tear fall down Caitlin's cheek.

"No, Hawke, I don't!" Caitlin said with more anger than she had intended. Taking a step back, she tried to calm herself with a deep breath before continuing. "Look, Hawke, I appreciate what you think you're doing…I really do but it's not your place to tell me who I should and shouldn't see. You are not my father, you're not my big brother and you're not my boyfriend. "

The last statement hit Hawke hard. She was right…he wasn't her boyfriend and it was no one's fault but his own. Dom was right too, Hawke had been in love with Caitlin for a long time and it hurt like hell to see her with someone else. Maybe it was him that wasn't thinking clearly. Could it just be jealousy that was making him suspicious of Jack? He really didn't want to believe that, but until he had something concrete, he knew he would have to back off. He just hoped that Archangel and Marella would be able to come up with something.

"Okay, okay, Caitlin. I'm sorry." he said as he reached out to take her arm. "It's just that so much has happened since we brought you into the Airwolf crew and I don't want to take any chances . You and Dom are all I've got…you know? I guess sometimes I over react."

Softening her gaze, Caitlin allowed String to pull her into a hug. "I know, Hawke. Just let me handle my own personal life, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Hawke answered half-heartedly as he held Caitlin in his arms, breathing in the scent of her freshly shampooed hair. _"At least until I can find out what the hell Jack is really up to…." _He added to himself.

_TBC….._


	5. Chapter 5

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

**Chapter 5**

First thing Monday morning, Archangel arrived in his office to find Hawke waiting for him.

"Good morning, Hawke, you're here early, " the spy said as he removed his suit jacket and hung it over the back of his chair before taking a seat behind his desk. "I waited to hear from you yesterday. What happened?"

"I didn't have a chance to call until it was late, Michael. So I'm here now, what did you find on Haynes?"

Pushing a thin manila folder across the desk to Hawke, Archangel waited for Hawke's reaction.

"That's it?" Hawke asked as he quickly flipped through the few pages contained within the file.

"Yep. Your guy appears to be clean as a whistle. Now you want to tell me who he is and why you had Marella working her day off to find this information for you?"

"He's an old army buddy. We flew choppers together in Nam. He just showed up at Santini's a few days ago said he was looking to hook up with a few old friends after retiring from the military."

"That's it? C'mon Hawke, there's got to be more to the story than that." Michael said with suspicion.

"Yeah, and there's got to be more to the file than this," Hawke said as he deflected the question and threw the meager folder back on the desk. "Haynes spent 22 years in the military. His military personnel file alone should be ten times this thick. What gives?"

"I wish I knew, Hawke. Marella spent hours running this guy through every data base she could find and this is what we got." Sighing, Michael leaned forward I n his chair and adjusted his glasses. "String, before we go any further with this conversation, I need to know what's going on with you and this Haynes. We could be crossing over into some dangerous territory and I could be getting myself into a whole mess of trouble with The Firm on this one. "

"What's The Firm got to do with Haynes?" Hawke asked, once again trying to dodge Michael's questions.

Getting up from behind his desk and picking up his jacket, Michael motioned for Hawke to follow him. "Let's go for a ride, Hawke," he said as he led the pilot out to his white limousine and got into the back. Once inside, Michael used his cane to tap on the partition that separated the driver from the back of the limo. The partition slid down, revealing Marella in the driver's seat. "Just drive, Marella, I don't care where."

"Yes, sir." She said as she started the car and headed out of The Firm's parking lot.

"Okay, Michael, what's with all the secrecy?" Hawke asked as he glared at the man in white seated next to him.

"I'll tell you Hawke, but I expect some information in return…got it?"

"Yeah, now what's up?" Hawke agreed reluctantly.

"While doing her research, Marella quickly came to the same conclusion about Haynes' file that you did. Everything she found was too neat and clean, not to mention there was hardly any of it."

"So what exactly does that mean?" Hawke asked.

Looking at the men in the rearview mirror, Marella took over the explanation as she continued to drive. "I've seen this kind of thing once or twice before but never this thorough," she said. "Basically, Haynes' file was what we call sterilized. At first I thought that maybe he was part of a witness protection program but the sterilization was even more thorough than that. "

"So what's this got to do with The Firm?" Hawke wondered.

"The only other time I've seen something even close to this done, a sterilization so complete, it meant that the person was working as a double or even triple agent for The Firm. Someone so deep under cover that it was often expected they would never return to their normal lives or were expected not to make it back from their missions. Most of these agents are guys with very dubious pasts that have nothing to return to anyways. Most of these agents are considered very dangerous and extremely volatile. The Firm uses what they have against them to get them to carry out missions no one else would touch. "

Michael continued where Marella left off. "And there is only one person that we've been able to determine that can authorize such an operation and who would have clearance to access all of the data bases within the government that would allow them to delete all of those records. "

"Let me guess, " Hawke said as he looked out the window of limousine. "Zeus."

"Now you know why I'm in such a bind here, Hawke. If Zeus finds me nosing around one of his own special agents, much less working against him, I could be in a world of hurt. So if I'm going to continue to risk my neck on this, I've got to know what you have on Haynes."

"Unfortunately, Michael, I don't have anything." Hawke said as he looked back at the stunned spy.

"What do you mean you don't have anything?"

"It's like I said, he just showed up at Santini's. He said he wanted to catch up with some old war buddies and that I was first on the list. He spent the weekend up at cabin with Dom and Cait and myself. "

"And?" the spy urged, praying there was more and that he hadn't put his career on the line for nothing.

"And, I don't know, something just didn't sit right with me. He's saying all the right things, hasn't done anything unusual but something in my gut is telling me there's more to this guy than what I remember. Evidently my hunch was right."

"So what do you think he's after?" Marella asked from the front seat.

"My guess would be what everyone seems to be after, Airwolf."

"Has he said something about Airwolf?" Michael asked as his ears perked up at the mention of the highly classified helicopter.

"Not specifically. He asked me about so-called rumors he'd heard of a mach one capable copter and about something being destroyed by Qadaffi but he didn't seem to have any specifics. It all came up in casual conversation that I, of course, dismissed but I got the feeling he already knew about Airwolf and was waiting to see if I'd confirm anything. "

"Great." Michael said as he rubbed his mustache, a telling sign that he was worried.

"We both know, Michael, how badly Zeus wants his hands on Airwolf. You think he'd use one of these agents to get it?" Hawke asked.

"Before today, I would have told you no way, Hawke, but with the evidence that seems to be building here, I'm not so sure anymore. Zeus is known for doing whatever it takes to get what he wants but I never would have thought he'd go to this extreme."

Thinking back to what Marella had said about the agents being so dangerous, Hawke figured that he better make a full disclosure to Michael. "There is something else you should know. Haynes and Caitlin have hit it off. I tried to warn him off but Cait overheard me talking to him and pretty much told me to mind my own business. I have no intention of doing so but I need to know how much danger Cait may really be in."

"If Haynes really is working for Zeus and they're after Airwolf…." Michael let the sentence trail off, not wanting to say out loud how worried he really was. However, he knew what he was going to say next would be even worse in Hawke's eyes and he braced himself for the reaction.

"But you can't pull her away from him, Hawke. He'll get suspicious and we could lose any chance we have of stopping this."

"The hell I can't, Michael! I'm not going to risk Caitlin's life" Hawke declared forcefully.

"She'll be in more danger if he finds out we're onto him, " Marella interjected.

Letting the situation sink in, Hawke let out a sigh and collapsed back onto the limo seat. He knew Marella was right but he didn't like it. "So what do we do now?" he asked.

"I suggest you make sure that Dom knows what's going on and you keep an eye on Caitlin. In the meantime, Marella and I will keep digging for more information on Haynes and see if anyone else on The Committee knows what Zeus is up to. I'm going to have to watch my step here. One word to the wrong person and this whole thing could blow up in our face. "

The occupants of the limo grew silent as they each thought over what they had just uncovered. About five minutes later, Marella pulled the limo back onto Firm property. As she pulled up next to Hawke's vehicle, Michael put his hand on the pilot's arm in a show of support.

"We'll figure this out, Hawke, I promise. Cait should be safe as long as she's in the dark about what's going on and can't tip Haynes off. Evidently he's in no hurry to get things done and is willing to work her as long it takes to get the information on the location of Airwolf. That works in our favor."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it, Michael, and don't think that if it comes down to it…I won't trade Airwolf for Caitlin in a heartbeat if I have to."

"I know, String. Let's just hope it doesn't get to that point." Michael said as he watched Hawke get out of the limo and head off back towards the airport.

_TBC…._

**AWAWAWAWAWAAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWA W**

A/N: Don't you just love it when the muse takes over and sends your story off in a whole other direction than what you intended? Lol. Well let's just see where we end up. More soon !


	6. Chapter 6

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

_A/N: Just a quick little chapter to get out a conversation that I've wanted to see happen between String and Dominic for a long time. I hope you enjoy it. Back to the intrigue in the next chapter, I promise! _

**Chapter 6**

"See, String, it just proves my theory that this whole curse thing is poppycock!" Dom said with smug satisfaction as he looked over at the younger man from the co-pilot's seat of the Sikorsky copter they were flying. Upon his return from The Firm and his talk with Archangel, Hawke knew he needed to let Dom know everything he had found out. In order to be able to talk away from Caitlin, he'd asked Dom to go with him on a test flight of the new Sikorsky they had just added to their fleet.

"Dom, did you just hear what I said? Caitlin might be in a lot of danger here!" Hawke said as he shook his head at Dom.

"Yeah, I heard you, String, and of course I'm worried about our girl down there but think about it. This time she might be in danger because you wouldn't take the chance to do what you should have done a long time ago and ask her out. If she was dating you now instead of that Haynes fella, she wouldn't be in this fix now would she?"

"You know, Dom, sometimes I don't believe you." Hawke with exasperation. "Is this really what you want to talk about now?"

"No but you need to hear it. When this thing is all over, I really want you to think about what I've just said, String. You can't run from everyone that cares for you for the rest of your life. That spunky little redhead down there is pretty special to you…you know it and I know it and you're about to lose any chance you might have of showing her that because you're so damn stubborn. Haynes is proof that she's not going to just sit around and wait for you to come to your senses, no matter how much she's in love with you."

Dom's last statement seemed to take Hawke by surprise as he accidently jerked the cyclic causing the copter to dip slightly. _"She's _in love with me? Dom you don't know what you're talking about. Sure we're close but she looks at me more like a big brother than anything else."

"Oh, Mamma Mia!" Dom exclaimed as he raised his hands to the heavens in a gesture of frustration. Are you really that blind, String? Are you so wrapped up in the curse and looking for Sinjin and whatever else goes on in that head of yours that you can't see what's right in front of your face?" Dominic asked as he took over control of the helicopter. He wanted String to listen for once, without the distraction of anything else. "That girl came all the way from Texas just to find you. Do you really think her only reason was to bring back your friend's remains? C'mon String, she's been in love with you since she got you out of that jail cell in Pope County and all this time she 's just been waiting for you to notice her. Haven't you ever seen the look on her face when you're with another woman? Did you not understand how much it hurt her when she saw you with Angelica Horn and weren't you listening when she claimed revenge on Angelica? Do I have to keep spelling it out for you? Because I can you know, I've got a million other examples of how much she loves you and, more importantly, how much you keep hurting her every time you choose not to acknowledge what she's put right in front of you. "

When Dom was finished, Hawke sat back in his seat and removed his sunglasses. Dom was surprised when he looked over only to see the younger man quickly wiping a tear from his eye. Feeling guilty for jumping on String so hard, Dom started to apologize but was interrupted by Hawke before he could get a word out. "No, Dom…don't say anything else. You're right," Hawke said quietly as he mulled over everything that Dom had just told him. "I've been too damn stubborn to realize that while I've done everything I can to keep Caitlin from physical harm, I've just succeeded in causing her emotional pain. I never wanted that, Dom. I guess I was just scared."

"I know that," Dom said as he reached over and put a reassuring hand on Hawke's shoulder. "And deep down, Caitlin knows that too but you have to tell her, String."

Looking over to the man he considered a surrogate father, Hawke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess I do. Do you think it's too late, Dom? Have I waited too long and lost the one chance I have with the only woman that understands me?"

"I don't' know, String. I truly hope not. You two were made for each other as far as I'm concerned and nothing would make me happier than seeing you two kids together. I think if you can trust her enough to tell her how you feel, she'll come back around to you."

Putting hi s sunglasses back on and taking control of the cyclic once more, Hawke nodded with determination and turned the chopper back towards the Santini Air hangar. "Well then, we 'v e got to stop wasting time and figure out what the hell we're going to do about Haynes and Zeus so we can move onto more important things."

"That's what I like to hear!" Dom said with a big smile.

"And, Dom…."

"Yeah, kid?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime, String, anytime. "

_TBC…._


	7. Chapter 7

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

**Chapter 7**

"Zeus, I thought I told you not to contact me!" Haynes said angrily into the phone.

"It's a been a week, Haynes, and I've heard nothing. Don't think you can get away with that kind of behavior. " Zeus admonished. "I'm the one making sure you get paid for this mission and I'm also the one covering your ass with Archangel and anyone else who may be trying to snoop around. I picked you for this job because I knew you would have no problems doing whatever it takes to get Airwolf back to the Firm where it belongs. I'm not paying you to have some fling with that woman. Now either you tell me you've got some results or I'll find someone else to do the job!"

"Don't threaten me, Zeus." Haynes warned. "Don't forget, I'm the only other man alive that can fly Airwolf besides those three. Oh and there's always the fact that one word from me to the wrong person on how you're using Firm operatives on unauthorized missions and that you're skimming off the budget to pay me, and you won't have to worry whether I do my job or not."

With a frustrated sigh, Zeus realized that Haynes was right. Zeus, himself, was in a precarious position with this mission and if it failed, he'd be the first one to take the fall. If anyone ever found out that Zeus had turned over all of the agencies files on Moffett and Airwolf to someone like Haynes, he would be accused of nothing less than treason. The only way to succeed would be to get Airwolf back. The Firm would not be happy with his methods but they would have a hard time arguing with the results. Not only would The Firm have Airwolf back but they would have a pilot that could fly her and they would no longer have any need for Stringfellow Hawke. In this case, the ends would justify the means. Until then, he would just have to do his best to keep Haynes happy.

"All right, Haynes, we'll do it your way but I won't be able to explain away your lack of records for long. Somebody's bound to start asking questions, if they haven't already. "

"Well you'll just have to find them some answers then won't you, Zeus? I told you when you gave me this assignment that it would take some time. I'm not going to earn the woman's trust overnight. Not to mention that Hawke is more suspicious than a three-dollar bill and he's all over me as it is. If I start asking too many questions, I'll tip him off and he'll take Airwolf where we'll never find it or worse, he'll destroy it."

"Fine, do what you have to do but I expect to hear from you every couple of days whether you have information or not! And Haynes, about the O'Shannessy woman….don't let her end up like the last one on your last assignment. I don't want to have to explain away yet another dead girl. You're making it difficult to cover your tracks."

Haynes smiled slightly at the memory of the woman Zeus mentioned. She had been a pretty, petite blonde with honey brown eyes and red lips, a real beauty. He'd almost regretted having to beat the information he needed out of her. Although, watching her beg for life had been fairly exhilarating for him.

"Don't worry, Zeus, that's just a last resort. Anyways, I've almost got this one eating out of the palm of my hand as it is…she'll tell me what I want to know before long. I'm sure of it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date to keep," he said as he hung up the phone.

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW AWAWAW**

It had been a week since Hawke had had his talk with Dominic and watching Caitlin seemingly growing closer and closer to Jack Haynes had been tearing him up inside, especially since he knew that the relationship would most likely end in Cait's heartbreak once again. Hawke had thought several times of just telling Caitlin what they had (or actually, hadn't) found out about Haynes but with no proof of any wrong-doing on Haynes part, he was afraid she would just accuse him of being over-protective again. Plus, he still felt that keeping her in the dark was the best way to keep her safe. She couldn't slip up and tell Jack something she didn't know, right?

As for Jack Haynes, the situation was just as frustrating for Hawke. He knew in his heart that the man was up to something but no one, not even Archangel and Marella, could dig up anything on him. It was like the man was nothing more than a ghost that barely existed. Hawke had spent a lot of time thinking back to Vietnam and trying to remember anything about Haynes that might give him a clue as to why the man had obviously turned into some kind of mercenary agent. However, not having seen or heard from the man for 12 years, there was just nothing he could remember that would give him a clue as to why he had turned allegiances, if that's in fact what had happened.

As maddening as it was for Hawke, all he could do for now was to sit and wait for Haynes to make his move. He just prayed that Cait would be safe in the meantime. Unfortunately, for Hawke, patience had never been one of his strong points.

Picking up the Santini Air office phone, Hawke dialed Michael's number. When the agent answered, Hawke barely gave the spy time to say hello before starting in. "Michael, I've had enough of this waiting around. I've been thinking and I believe I may have a way to draw out Haynes and Zeus. Meet me and Dom at the cabin tonight and I'll explain everything to you then."

"Just like that, Hawke? You expect me to drop everything and just come running at your command?" Michael answered feeling a little miffed at Hawke's automatic expectation of a positive response.

"Yeah, I do." Hawke said simply as he hung up on the spy knowing that Michael would show up, just like always.

_TBC…._


	8. Chapter 8

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

_A/N: So some of you were worried Cait might be a little too gullible about men. Maybe she's not quite as naïve as we thought. I think most of you will enjoy this chapter and I wanted to leave you with a good one for the weekend, not sure if I'll get a chance to update before Monday. I hope this one leaves you satisfied _

**Chapter 8**

"So you want to explain to me what that was all about?" Caitlin stood in the doorway of the office with her arms crossed watching Hawke as he hung up the phone with Archangel.

"Caitlin!, How long have you been standing there?" Hawke asked with surprise as he turned to see Caitlin staring back at him, not looking very happy.

"Long enough, " she said as she entered the office, slamming the door behind her.

"Caitiln, I…" Hawke started but was cut off by the angry redhead before he could continue.

"You know what hurts the most, Hawke?" Caitlin asked as she went over behind desk and wearily sat down with a sigh. "It's not that you've obviously been snooping around behind my back, it's that you don't respect me enough to trust me. For over a year now, I've worked alongside you and Dom, flying Airwolf, working top-secret missions for Archangel and The Firm…hell, even saving your life a few times and what do I get in return? NOTHING, that's what!" she said as she slapped her palm on the desk making Hawke jump up from the edge of the desk he had been leaning on.

Turning to look at Caitlin, Hawke gazed at the woman seated behind the desk. Thinking about what she had just said, it dawned on him that she didn't seem surprised that he had mentioned Zeus and Haynes in the same breath to Archangel or that she even seemed upset that Haynes may not be all that he seemed to be. She had really only mentioned the hurt she felt at Hawke not trusting her. It was then that he realized, she had already figured some things out on her own.

"How long have you known?" was all he asked.

"I've suspected since I overheard him asking you about the 'monster black helicopter' at the cabin."

"So why didn't you say anything?" Hawke asked as he straddled the chair across the desk from Caitlin.

"Why didn't you?" was her accusing reply.

"Touche`" Hawke said as he dropped his gaze to the desk in defeat. After a few minutes of tension-filled silence, Hawke decided that the next move was his to make. "Caitlin, I'm really sorry but I really was only trying to keep you safe."

"By keeping me in the dark? Really, Hawke? And how was that supposed to work?" she said, the anger creeping back into her voice. "Why don't you try explaining again, and this time I want the truth and not about you hiding behind some curse that makes you think I'll be in danger just because you decide to trust me or show that you care."

Hawke stared back at her with surprise. She had seen right through him as usual. Keeping her safe was, of course, a consideration but it really wasn't the whole story if he was being completely honest with her. Maybe it was time he started trying to give her the truth that she deserved and that he had been too afraid to admit himself for so long. He could hear Dom's voice in his head telling him that he needed to do something before it was too late and he lost Caitlin forever. He had a feeling this might just be the make or break moment for them.

Steeling his resolve with a deep breath, Hawke rose from his chair and came around the desk and took one of Cait's hands in his own, gently coaxing her to stand so she could face him eye-to-eye. "Caitlin, I never meant to hurt you in any way, you have to know that. I do trust you and respect you and care for you…so much. Maybe, if I'm being truthful, it's me that I was scared for more than you."

Tears started to form in Caitlin's eyes, as she watched Hawke struggle with his words and emotions. She knew how hard this was for him but she also knew that she couldn't interrupt him, she had to hear him say the words she had waited so long to hear. And he had to say them without any coaxing from her…she had to know that the words and feelings were his. So saying nothing, she just gave his hand a slight squeeze to let him know she was listening and that it was okay to continue.

Reaching up and stroking her cheek with his hand, Hawke continued. "Caitlin, over the last several months, you've come to mean so much to me and I guess that I got so wrapped up in the chance that I could lose you that instead of bringing you closer, I've pushed you away. And then Haynes came into the picture and I thought you were happy. It hurt so much for me to see you with him but I convinced myself that you deserved a happiness that I couldn't give you. When I found out that something wasn't right about him, it just seemed to prove to me that my curse was in full force and that I might lose you.

Not being able to hold back any longer, Caitlin questioned Hawke. "So why not come to me and tell me what you suspected about Jack?"

"Because I truly thought the less you knew the safer you would be. I couldn't stand the thought of him hurting you and I had to do whatever I could to stop that from happening. It was never about not trusting you, it was that I couldn't lose someone else that I loved."

"And do you love me, String?" Caitlin whispered, almost afraid to say the words out loud herself.

Looking her straight in the eyes with those steel blue eyes, Hawke nodded his head. "Yes, Cait, I DO love you and I have for a long time."

"Then, you have to learn to trust me too, String. Love isn't an exclusive emotion, it comes with trust, respect, honesty and, yes, even sometimes fear. But you know what? It's okay to feel all of those things. And see, you've said you loved me and here I am, still standing, no lightening strikes, nothing coming to take me away. And I bet if you held me, I wouldn't break either,'' Cait added with a smile.

Pulling her in close, Hawke did hold her and it felt so good and so right to have her in his arms. After a few minutes, Hawke pulled out of the embrace and took her face in his hands. "I'm sorry, Cait," he said as he brushed the tears off of her cheeks with his thumbs. "I've been a fool."

"No more than I have for being too scared to tell you how I've felt for so long," she said as she averted her gaze from his. "I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you either."

"Well I guess I didn't exactly make myself open to that, did I?" Hawke said as he gently took her chin and tilted it up so she would have to look back into his eyes. "But what do you say, we change all that starting now?" Bending down ever so slightly, Hawke leaned in and kissed her gently but with enough conviction to let her know that things had changed from friends to something more between them.

"HMM HMM" Dom cleared his throat to announce his arrival as he looked with joy at the scene in front of him in the office.

"Oh!" Caitlin said with surprise as she broke away from the kiss and flushed with embarrassment as she looked at Dom's very wide, gap-toothed grin.

"Well, well, it's about time you two kids got your heads on straight!" Dom said as he looked at the two pilots, both of them looking like kids who'd been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"Yeah, it is" Hawke agreed with a chuckle as he slid an arm around Caitlin's waist and pulled her closer into his side.

"Hey, what time is it?" Cait asked suddenly as she looked at her watch. "Oh my, it's 4:30 and I'm supposed to meet Jack in half an hour for our date!"

Hawke grabbed Caitlin slightly tighter in a show of possession. "Well there's no way I'm going to let that happen, now!"

"Hawke, you have to. Look, I don't know what you guys have on Jack but if I suddenly refuse to go out with him isn't he going to suspect something 's up and that's going to be a lot more dangerous than if I don't go!" Caitlin reasoned.

"She's right, String." Dom agreed.

"So what do we do?" Caitlin asked as she looked worriedly at Hawke.

"Well first we need to get you up to date on everything we have, or more importantly what we don't have, on Haynes. " Hawke then proceeded to tell Caitlin about their conversations with Michael and Marella including the problems with the lack of information and their theory about Zeus.

"And you said you had suspicions too, Caitlin. Has Haynes said anything to you about Airwolf?"

Shaking her head, Caitlin told them what had led her to her doubts about the man. "No, nothing. But he always seems to have a lot of questions about you, Hawke and what you've been doing since Vietnam. However, whenever I try to ask him about his own history, he becomes pretty evasive or changes the subject all together. Oh, he's slick about it, I didn't even realize at first that he wasn't answering my questions but then it just became obvious that I didn't seem to be finding out anything about this man."

"Well then I I guess things for now stay the same. Dom and I will meet with Archangel tonight to flesh out a plan I might have and Caitlin, as much as I hate it, you keep your date with Jack. Where's he taking you?"

"We're supposed to go out to dinner and then dancing" Caitlin said with a grimace. Now that Hawke had finally admitted his feelings for her, the thought of seeing Jack Haynes again almost turned her stomach.

"Good, keep him in public places if you can, he won't try anything stupid with a bunch of people around. I need you to keep trying to find out whatever information you can on Haynes past. Ask him about the war, his military career, whatever…just see if he'll slip up and tell you something. But be careful, if he thinks you're pushing too hard, you'll spook him. Can you handle that?"

"Yep. Piece of cake." Cait said with a nod.

"All right. As soon as he drops you off tonight, I want you to fly up to the cabin. I'll fill you in on everything when you get there. And bring a change of clothes, you're staying with me and Dom at the cabin tonight. I don't want you alone any more than you have to be until this thing is over. If we get back to the hangar first thing in the morning, he doesn't have to know that you weren't home last night."

"Okay, got it." Caitlin agreed as she snuck another look at her watch. "Listen, I hate to do this but I have to get going. I'm supposed to meet Jack at the restaurant in 15 minutes."

"You be careful," Hawke said as he drew her close and kissed her tenderly.

"Don't worry, String. I'm the one that proves your curse wrong, remember?" she said with a wink as she headed for the door. Stopping to give Dom a quick peck on the cheek, Caitlin waved goodbye and left to meet up with Haynes.

"That's some girl we got there!" Dom said with a smile as he watched her leave.

"Yeah, she sure is," Hawke said with the biggest smile Dom had seen on him in a long time.

_TBC…._


	9. Chapter 9

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

**Chapter 9**

Hawke was pacing the floor of the cabin. It was 11:30 p.m. and Cait still hadn't arrived after her date with Haynes. Hawke was beginning to get a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I'm sure she's fine, String." Dom said trying to convince himself as much as the nervous younger man he saw before him.

Shaking his head in disagreement, Hawke stopped his pacing as he approached his mentor, "I don't like it, Dom. Cait's always back early from her dates with Haynes on weeknights. Plus she knows we have an early call on a charter tomorrow. Where the hell is she?"

"Maybe she's just having trouble getting clearance with the guys at the tower or something. You know they don't like letting those late night flights in or out." Dom guessed, hoping that's all it was.

"If that was the case, she would have given us a call on the radio. Something's wrong," Hawke stated matter of factly, knowing he was right. "Dammit, I should have never let her go back out with him! I'm going to find her," he said as he headed towards the door and grabbed his leather flight jacket from the coat rack on the wall. "I swear, Dom, if he's harmed one hair on her head, I'll kill him!"

"Whoah, kid," Dom said as he held up his hands. "You're getting way ahead of yourself here. Don't forget, Caitlin's a tough cookie. She can handle herself in just about any situation. Anyways, we can't just go traipsing in after her without a reason. If nothing's wrong, Haynes will know that we're onto him. Not to mention how mad Caitlin will be that we didn't trust her, right?"

"Right," Hawke said with reluctance as he returned his jacket to the peg on the wall and then sighed as he dropped himself into a chair by the fireplace. "But I'm giving her until midnight. If we haven't seen or heard from her by then, I'm going after her and you won't be able to stop me!"

"Don't worry, kid, I'll be right there with you!" Dom said as he picked up the pacing that Hawke had abandoned.

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW**

Cait glanced at the clock on the wall of her apartment as she poured Jack the drink he requested. _"10:30 p.m. I've got to figure out a way to get him out of here and fast," _she thought to herself as she handed him the drink and sat back down beside him on the couch.

Caitlin had never intended for Jack to return to her apartment with her but when he asked if he could come back for a quick drink after taking her dancing she couldn't think of a way to turn him down without tipping him off. She had spent much of their last several dates giving him excuses on why she had to be home early or trying to convince him that she was an old-fashioned girl who preferred not to rush things but he had become quite "hands-on" as of late. She feared he was growing quite impatient with her.

Still, she had wanted to try a few more questions to see if she could get any information out of him. However, so far, she'd had no luck and now here she was stuck with him in her apartment and worried he was getting the wrong idea of what she really had in mind.

"Got another date waiting in the wings?" he asked as took the drink from her with a smile.

"What?" Cait asked in surprise.

"Well you keep looking at the clock, I figured maybe you had another date and were trying to get rid of me."

"Oh no, Jack, not at all," she answered with a nervous laugh. "It's just that I've got an early charter in the morning and I guess I really should be thinking about getting into bed."

"Hmmm, exactly my thoughts," he said with a wink as he reached out and caressed her arm.

"Now, Jack, you know I said I wasn't ready for all of that, yet," she said as she lightly slapped his hand away in what she hoped seemed like a playful manner. If she'd had her choice she would have done a lot more than slap his hand but for now she knew she had to keep her cool. "Anyways, I want to know more about you before we take things to the next level, you know? I really don't know much other than the fact that you're an old friend of Hawke's," she said in one last effort to gather some information from Haynes. "And I've told you all about my childhood in Texas and everything. It's only fair you share something with me."

Undeterred, Jack put down his drink and leaned in towards Cait, taking her by the shoulders. "C'mon, Caitlin, you know that talking isn't what you want. If it was, you wouldn't have invited me up here. Now quit being a tease. It was cute at first but now it's just getting tiresome."

As he leaned in closer, Caitlin saw something in his eyes that actually scared her. He was a man determined to get what he wanted and what he wanted right now was Cait. She knew she would have to put a stop to this before it went any further, she clearly wasn't going to get any information out of him tonight.

"Stop it, Jack!" she said with force as she pushed herself out of his grip and stood from the couch. "Maybe it's time you leave." She suggested as she took a step away from him.

"And maybe it's time you stopped playing games with me!," he shouted as he quickly rose and grabbed her roughly by the arm.

"Ouch, Jack, you're hurting me," Caitlin said as she tried to break free from his grip. "Let me go before I do something we'll both regret!" she warned him.

"Like what?" Jack asked with an amused grin as he only proceeded to tighten the hold he had on her. "You'll hit me with one of those black belt moves of yours?" Seeing the surprised look on her face, he laughed. "Yeah, that's right Caitlin, I know all about your hand-to-hand combat training. As a matter of fact, you'd be surprised at all of things I know about you and your friends Hawke and Santini. I think maybe it's time we come to some type of understanding, you and me," he said as he pushed her back, causing her to trip over the coffee table. As she fell, Caitlin hit her cheek against the corner of the table, cutting her face.

Caitlin tried to crawl away from him, but Jack was quicker and stronger and Caitlin was starting to feel a little woozy from where she had hit her head. Jack grabbed her and pulled her back up to her feet, only to backhand her across the face causing her to fall back into an armchair behind her. Stunned and dazed, Caitlin could only watch him as he leant over her, placing an arm on each side of her trapping her in the chair.

"Now, Cait, as I said, it's time to stop playing games. I've grown tired of them anyways. I thought I would be able to get you to come around to my way of thinking without having to resort to violence but I see that I underestimated you. Let's just lay it all out on the line shall we? " Haynes quickly kneed her in the stomach as Caitlin tried to squirm out from under him.

"Man, you are a feisty one, aren't you?" he said with a grin. "But if you haven't figured it out by now, I have no problems hitting a woman. As a matter of fact, I kind of enjoy it. I suggest you calm down and listen or things or just going to get a whole lot worse for you, real quick, understand?"

Caitlin nodded her head as she looked in fear at the man who stood over her. Her gut was telling her to try to fight back but her head knew that at this point he was bigger and stronger, not to mention the fact that with his military experience, he was evidently well-trained in physical combat himself. For now she would have to hear him out and pray an opportunity for escape presented itself.

"That's better. Now as I'm pretty sure you've already figured out, I'm after more than just your trim little body," he said as he trailed a hand over her neck and chest, causing a shiver to run through Cait at the feel of his hand on her skin. "I think you and I both know that as lovely as you are, you know where something that's even more breathtaking than you, my dear, is hidden. Her name is Airwolf and youre going to tell me where she is."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Caitlin said. It didn't take her long to realize that denial of Airwolf's existence was a mistake as Haynes quickly backhanded her across the face once more causing her to cry out in pain.

"You want to rethink that answer, Caitlin?" Haynes asked with a sneer. "Or do you want me to completely destroy that pretty face of yours?"

Still trying to find a way out of the situation she was in, Caitlin tried another tactic. "All right, even if I do know where Airwolf's at and I tell you, you can't fly her Jack."

"Well that's where you're wrong, Red." He laughed. "I've spent the last year studying all of Airwolf's schematics and Moffett's notes that were so kindly given to me by someone at your precious Firm."

"Zeus," Cait acknowledged quietly.

Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Haynes paused slightly. "Well, I guess you know more than I even figured. I guess it doesn't matter now. Yes, Zeus was nice enough to supply me with everything I needed. I should have no problems getting Airwolf back to The Firm and then becoming their new pilot. And in case you haven't figured it out by now, that would mean there's no further need for Stringfellow Hawke. After all of this time, I'll finally be able to prove to him that I am the better pilot. All that time in Vietnam and he got all the recognition. It's time that it comes back where it belongs, with me. "

"That's why you're doing this?" Caitlin asked incredulously. "To show Hawke you're a better pilot?"

"Well, that and the two million dollars that Zeus is paying me. Not to mention the fact that once Airwolf is in my hands, I'll be able to control Zeus and The Firm's actions. But I'm rambling, aren't I…first things first. Where is Airwolf?"

"You'll just have to kill me. I won't tell you." Caitlin insisted as she braced herself for the next impact from Haynes. This was definitely not the way she had hoped her life would end but she knew that she'd rather give her life than betray Hawke by giving away Airwolf. She was surprised, however, to hear Haynes laughing in response.

"Oh, my dear, it's not you that will die if I don't get the location of Airwolf. It will be your friends Santini and Hawke. I've already told Zeus that it would be a last resort but that I would make use of his Zebra Squad to kill them if you were being stubborn. It's not the way I want things to go, I actually have other plans for Hawke but I'll do whatever I have to, to get Airwolf. Zeus is just waiting for my call. Now you can either give me the location or I'll pick up the phone right now. Your choice." He said as he started to reach for the phone.

"No!" Caitlin cried. She knew at that point that she had been defeated. She couldn't be the reason that Hawke was killed. He would hate her for giving up Airwolf but she had no choice, even Airwolf wasn't worth Dom and String's lives. Giving in, she gave Haynes directions to the Lair.

"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" he said with an evil smile as he pulled Caitlin up from the chair. "Now, because you've been such a good girl, I'm going to let you live. And I expect you're going to go straight to Hawke, and when you do, I've got a message for him." Telling her what he wanted her to relay to Hawke, Haynes pulled Cait to him and kissed her forcibly. Laughing as he pushed her away, he turned and left.

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW AWAW**

It was 11:58 pm and String and Dom were headed out the door of the cabin when String cocked his head indicating that he was hearing the sound of rotors in the distance.

"She's here!" he yelled with relief to Dom as he quickly ran out to the pier. Watching the helicopter approach, however, Hawke knew something was wrong.

"She's awfully unsteady," Dom mused out loud as he caught up with String, echoing what String was thinking.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, the helicopter finally touched down on the pier. Running up to the door of the chopper, String opened it only to have Caitlin slump over and fall out into his arms.

"Mamma Mia, " Dom exclaimed as he shined the flashlight he'd been carrying towards the almost unconscious redhead. Even in the weak light, it wasn't hard to see the cuts and bruises that covered much of Cait's face. "Get her inside, String! I'll grab the first aid kit."

As Hawke began to carry her down the pier, Cait stirred in his arms. Looking up at Hawke's blue eyes, she started to cry. "I'm sorry, String," was all she said before she passed out completely.

_TBC…_

_A/N - So being perfectly honest, this is not the plan I had for this story but as I started on this chapter the muse just kind of took over and this is how it went. I'm not all that unhappy with it and it should set up a nice show down between Hawke and Haynes. I hope you've enjoyed it as well ;) _


	10. Chapter 10

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

**Chapter 10**

Cait slowly opened her eyes as she struggled to figure out where she was. She could feel the warmth of a fire on her face and heard low voices coming from somewhere behind her. Glancing around she could tell that she was on the couch in String's cabin. As she tried to lift herself up to get a better look, a sharp pain ripped through her head and a loud moan automatically escaped her throat.

"Hey, there," Hawke said as he rushed over and sat down next to her. "Take it easy, Caitlin," he said as he gently brushed the hair from her forehead.

"Hawke?" she asked still feeling woozy. "I made it to the cabin?"

"Yeah, I don't know how, but you made it here, " he confirmed as he looked over her with a concerned eye. "You must have been running on autopilot most of the way. How are you feeling?"

"Not so hot," Caitlin answered as she lifted a hand to her face to feel the bruises she knew had formed there. "My head feels like it's in a vice. "

"Well that's from the concussion, young lady," a voice from behind her said. "You've also got a broken rib or two so don't try to sit up too fast ," a dark haired man came into view and stood next to where Hawke was sitting on the couch.

Seeing the confused look on Caitlin's face, Hawke introduced the man. "Caitlin, this is Dr. Anderson. He works for The Firm. Michael brought him up when we radioed for help after you arrived. You gave us all quite a scare."

"You sure did, honey!" Dom chimed in from where he was standing at the foot of the couch next to Archangel.

Starting to feel embarrassed at all the attention being focused on her, Cait turned her gaze back to Hawke. As the events of what had happened at her apartment suddenly came back to her though, panic began to overtake Caitlin. Hawke could see a look of what he could only describe as pure terror take over her face.

"Caitlin? What is it?" he asked as he gently took her hands in his.

"Oh, Hawke, I'm so sorry!" she sobbed as she turned her head away from him. "I didn't want to tell him but I had no choice. I won't blame you if you hate me!"

"Hate you?" Hawke said with confusion. "Caitlin, I could never hate you!"

"But Airwolf…" she started to say only to be quickly interrupted by Michael.

"What about Airwolf, Caitlin?" the spy asked automatically.

"Dammit, Archangel, we don't care about Airwolf," Dom said as he elbowed the spy in the side. "As long as Cait's okay, that's all that matters!"

Seeing the fear in Caitlin's eyes, Hawke leaned forward and gently took her in his arms. "Dom's right, Caitin, whatever happens with Airwolf, the important thing is that you're okay. "

"Well, of course," Michael said rather sheepishly. "I'm glad you're going to be okay too, Caitin. But if there's something we need to know about Airwolf and Jack Haynes, you need to tell us." Getting a steely look from Hawke for his statement, Michael explained himself. "Look Hawke, you know I care about what happens to Cait…to all of you but you have to remember I still work for The Firm and this country's security may be at stake if Airwolf falls into the wrong hands. If something's happening, I need to know about it."

"He's right, Hawke," Caitlin said as Hawke helped her to sit up by propping a few pillows behind her on the couch. "I've got to tell you what happened. We've got to get Jack before it's too late!"

"Are you up for this, Cait?" Hawke asked as he softly stroked her cheek. "As much as I want to kill Haynes for laying a hand on you, my first concern is you, no matter what Michael says."

Nodding her head slightly, Caitlin took a deep breath. "I'm okay, String and Michael's right. We can't let Jack get away. Hawke, he knows where Airwolf is! I did everything I could not to tell him but then he said that if I didn't tell him, he was going to have Zeus send the Zebra Squad out to assassinate both you and Dom." A tear fell down her cheek as she thought about losing "her guys" as she liked to refer to them. "I couldn't let that happen, String…I couldn't go on knowing I had allowed you to die, even to save Airwolf." Caitlin started sobbing softly.

"Shhh, it's okay baby, I'm not going to die," Hawke tried to comfort Caitlin as he held her in his arms.

"Me either, sweetheart," Dom said as he came around behind Caitlin and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "String and me, we're indestructible in case you haven't figured that out yet!" he added with a grin.

After a few moments of letting what Caitlin had just said sink in, Michael realized something. "Caitlin, did you say that Zeus was going to allow Haynes access to the Zebra Squad?"

Wiping her tears, Caitlin nodded. "That's what he said. He said all he would have to do would be to make a phone call and Zeus would send them out. And that's not all fellas…"

Caitlin proceeded to tell them about the two million dollars and all of the classified documents that Zeus had turned over to Haynes. She told them that Haynes believed that he would be able to fly the machine and how he planned to use Airwolf to control the members of the The Committee at The Firm. She also told him about his feelings of jealousy towards Hawke.

"Well I'll be damned!" Michael said as he banged his rosewood cane on the floor. "Zeus has officially gone off the deep end and may just be taking the rest of the Firm down with him if we're not careful!"

As he was listening to all that Caitlin was telling them, something kept nagging at the back of Hawke's mind. As much as he hated to ask, he knew he had to. "Caitlin, if Jack had the location for Airwolf and all of the information he needed from you, why aren't you…I mean, how did you get away?"

"You mean why didn't he just kill me?" Caitlin asked softly, knowing what a sensitive subject it was for Hawke. "Because he wanted me to bring you a message; he wants you to meet him tonight at 6:00 in the desert for one last showdown to prove who's the better pilot and he knew that if he sent me back like this, you'd be mad enough to come."

"Well that's not much of a fair fight if he has The Lady!" Dom exclaimed.

"No, Dom, he said he'd have a couple of Huey Cobras, just like they flew in 'Nam. Jack said if Hawke could beat him one on one, he'd give back Airwolf. Of course, he hadn't told Zeus that part."

"No way, String…sounds like a trap to me!" Dom said as he watched the younger pilot thinking over what Cait had just told him.

"And did he say what would happen if I didn't show up, Cait?" Hawke asked, ignoring Dom.

Nodding her head silently, Caitlin said nothing, afraid of what she knew Hawke's reaction would be.

"C'mon Caitlin, what did he say would happen if I didn't show?" Hawke urged.

"He would have Zeus turn Zebra Squad on me," she said quietly.

"Well it's all settled then, isn't it?" Hawke said without a moment's hesitation. "I'll see him there. "

Everyone wanted to say something to stop him from going but everyone in that room also knew that trying to talk Hawke out of it would be a waste of breath.

"Come on, Brian," Michael said to the Doctor as he turned towards the door to leave. "I've got to get back to Knightsbridge." Looking at his watch, Michael sighed…"I've got 12 hours to try and convince The Committee that we've got to overthrow Zeus and find the proof to do it with without getting myself put in front of a firing squad for treason by my own government! Hawke…I'll let you know if we can get Zeus neutralized. Until then, watch your backs. If Zebra Squad really is still under Zeus' command, I can't guarantee he won't send them out to back up Haynes, just in case. Evidently he'll do anything to get his hands on Airwolf."

"Right, Michael and thanks, Doc." Hawke responded as he watched them leave.

Suddenly feeling like a third wheel, Dom was the next to head for the door. "Listen kids, it's been a really long night for all of us. I'm headed back to the hangar to get some shuteye," he said as he gave Cait a quick kiss on the top of her head and donned his ever-present red satin Santini Air ball cap. "I'll meet you back up here this afternoon. String you take good care of our girl there and both of you, get some rest…I have a feeling we're going to need it!"

"You got it, Dom," String said as he turned his attention back to Caitlin. "Finally alone," he said to Cailtin with a smile trying to lighten the mood.

"Hawke, you don't have to.." Caitlin started but was interrupted when String leaned in to kiss her softly.

"Not now, Caitlin," he said quietly as he pulled back from the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. "We both know I'm going so it's no use arguing about it. Right now I just want to hold you and make sure you're okay. I thought I may have lost you there when I first got you out of that helicopter. I just need to feel you next to me, okay?"

Getting up from the couch, Hawke leaned down and tenderly picked up Cait in his arms. Cait put her arms around his neck as he carried her up the stairs to his bed in the loft. Placing her lightly on the down comforter, Hawke climbed in bed beside her. Being careful not to jar her injured ribs, he encircled her with his arms, laying her head on his chest so she could feel his heartbeat.

"I love you, Caitlin," he whispered as he lovingly stroked her hair.

"I love you too, String," she responded relaxing herself into his embrace wishing it could always be this way but knowing that in a few short hours their world would be once again turned upside down by Jack Haynes.

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW AWAWAWAW**

_TBC…_

_A/N: Thanks for the read. Please don't forget to review if you have a chance. The muse may need all the help she can get for the showdown scene! _


	11. Chapter 11

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

**Chapter 11**

Hawke awoke with a jerk when he heard the sound of Dom's helicopter returning to the cabin. Looking to his side he smiled as he saw Caitlin sleeping next to him. For a few moments, he laid next to her just watching her breathe, thankful that she was going to be okay and that she was here with him. Even as bruised and battered as she was, he felt in awe of her natural beauty. Of course seeing her injuries also fueled his need for revenge on Haynes. Remembering what still had to be done, Hawke got up slowly and quietly so as not to wake Caitlin and placed a soft kiss on her temple before heading downstairs to greet Dom.

Hawke made it out to the front porch by the time the older pilot was headed up the path from the pier. "Hey, Dom," Hawke said as the older man climbed the steps to the porch. "Let's talk out here. Caitlin's still asleep and I don't want to wake her. Dr. Anderson said to make sure she got plenty of rest."

"How's she doing?" Dom asked as he followed String to the bench under the window and sat down.

"I think she's hurting more than she's letting on but you know how stubborn she can be and she's telling me she's okay."

"Sounds like someone else I know!" Dom said with a grin. "Man, I don't mind telling you, that girl gave me one hell of a fright last night. First I didn't think she was going to make that landing on the pier and then when I saw her fall out of that chopper…well…. I thought we might have lost her!"

"Yeah, I know," Hawke agreed as he stared out at the lake. Dom could tell by String's grim expression and his stare that the younger pilot had been pretty damn scared himself. Dom wasn't sure what would have happened to String if Caitlin hadn't made it. He also knew that Hawke wouldn't be satisfied until he made Haynes pay for what he'd done to her.

"So I guess there's no sense in trying to talk you out of this showdown with Haynes?" Dom asked although he knew the answer to the question before he even spoke.

"Nope."

"Well then, I guess we better start figuring out how we're going to play this."

"We?" Hawke said as he turned to look at the man that had been his mentor and surrogate father for so long. "Dom, he wants me to come alone and I intend to do that. One wrong move and he could decide to send the squad after Caitlin and I'm not about to risk her life again."

"And you think he's going to keep his word even if you come alone?" Dom asked as he returned String's stare. "C'mon String, he can't be trusted and if you think for one blessed minute that I'm sending you out there on your own with no back up, you're crazy!"

"Well call me crazy then, Dom, because that's exactly what's going to happen!" Hawke said tersely as he stood and walked over to the porch railing. Turning around he sighed as he looked at the older man in front of him. "Look, I know that you want to help and I appreciate it, I really do, but I need someone to stay here with Caitlin and I don't trust anyone to keep her safe more than you. And as for the dogfight with Haynes, I think we both know I can out pilot him any day of the week. I don't think his ego will let him admit that and that's exactly what I'm counting on. Once we get in the air, I shouldn't have any problems defeating him."

Shaking his head, Dom got up and walked over to the young man he considered his son. "And that's exactly what's got me worried, String. Don't you see? I t's too easy. Haynes has got some kind of trick up his sleeve. This isn't going to be a fair fight, I'd bet my life on that, so we have to come up with a few tricks of our own. "

"Hawke, Dom's right." Both pilots turned to see Caitlin leaning against the cabin doorway.

"Caitlin!" Hawke said as he rushed to her side. "What are you doing up? You should be getting some rest."

"I'm fine, Hawke, really," she said as she let him lead her over towards the bench that he and Dom had just vacated. "Anyways, if you think I'm going to let either one or both of my guys just head off into the sunset to fight with some crazy man while leaving me out of it, you better think again!"

"Caitlin, I've got to agree with String on this one. Honey, you're in no shape to be going anywhere, much less flying," Dom said as he sat down next to the red-haired pilot.

"Well who says I have to fly to help? " Caitlin asked as she looked from Dom to Hawke. "Look, fellas, I know I'm not in any condition to pilot but that doesn't mean I can't help from here. "

"Doing what?" Hawke asked.

"I don't know but I'll be damned if the two of you are going to do this without me. Yes, I may be injured and my head may still be a little cloudy but that doesn't mean I'm useless. Airwolf means as much to me as she does to you guys, not to mention the fact that I think I deserve at least some part in getting back at Haynes for what he's done." Looking to both men, Caitlin could tell that neither one was convinced.

"C'mon guys…we're a family, right?" she asked as both Hawke and Dom nodded in response. "Well real families don't just leave one member out to dry. When one's in trouble the others jump in to help. They support each other and work together to set things right. And, String, didn't you once tell us that if you had to do things all over again, there's no one else that you'd rather do them with? Well here's your chance to prove it, Hawke. Let us help you. "

A smile slowly spread across Dom's face. "You know, kid, she makes a pretty good point. "

Hawke stared back at the two people he cared the most for in the world as they sat across from him, waiting for his answer. He knew that Cait was right but fear and his need to protect her at all costs fought with his reason. _"And where has that gotten you so far,?" _he thought to himself, _"Nothing but a lot of heartache and loneliness. If I don't start giving her the respect she told me she wanted, I'm going to lose her before we've even had a chance to start and I don't think I could handle that."  
_

Kneeling down in front of her, Hawke took Caitlin's hand in his. "All right, we'll do this together. I'm not going to lie to you that it scares the hell out of me but I also know that there's no one else in the world that I'd want to have my back than you two. "

"That's the spirit, kid!" Dom exclaimed as he patted String on the back. "Now, what do you say we all get inside, make some sandwiches and start planning the demise of Jack Haynes!"

Both Caitlin and Hawke chuckled as they watched Dom get up and head in to the kitchen. As Hawke started to get up to follow, Caitlin guided him into the seat beside her instead. "Thanks, String, ' she said as she looked at him lovingly.

"For what?"

"For believing in me, for having the courage to include me. Believe me, I know how hard this is for you and I just want you to know that I love you very much," she said as she reached up put her arms around his neck. Closing her eyes she leaned in and kissed him passionately.

As he felt the love that Caitlin expressed to him in that kiss, Hawke suddenly realized that his life would never be the same. What once scared him so much, was now the one thing he craved more than anything…the love of this woman. And with that love, he knew that anything was possible.

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW AW**

_A/N…next chapter…the confrontation! _


	12. Chapter 12

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

**Chapter 12**

Hawke looked up as he heard a helicopter approaching from over the lake. "Michael's coming," was all he said as he turned his attention back to the maps on the table that he and Dom and Cait had been studying.

"Maybe he's had some luck with The Committee, " Dom said hopefully.

"I hope so, " Caitlin said as she sat back from the table and rubbed her temple.

"You all right, Cait?" Hawke said as he glanced over to see a pained expression cross her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just this concussion is making it hard for me to stay focused, I guess."

Before anything else could be said, the door of the cabin opened and Michael entered followed closely by his assistant, Marella.

"Please tell us you have good news, Michael," Hawke said as the spies joined them at the dining room table.

"Do I look like I have good news? " Michael answered rhetorically. "Marella, do you want to fill them in? I'm going to pour myself a drink."

"That bad?" Caitlin asked as she watched Michael open the decanter full of vodka on the bar and pour himself a stiff drink.

"He's been locked in a room with The Committee since getting back from here this morning," Marella answered as she indicated towards her boss with a nod. " It took some time but he was finally able to convince them that Zeus' actions had become a threat to both The Firm and national security."

"That's great!" Dom said.

"Not so fast, Dominic, " Michael responded as he headed back over to the table, drink in hand. "Even though The Committee has agreed to remove Zeus from his seat, actually doing it is another thing. That's an order that has to come down from the highest office in Washington itself and that takes time. And even if we did get the order, at this point it may not matter anyways."

"Why not?" Hawke asked succinctly.

Putting down his drink and adjusting his glasses to give himself time to prepare for what he was about to tell the rest of the group, Michael finally continued, "because Zeus had already handed over power to direct the Zebra Squad to Haynes. As soon as he had Airwolf in his possession, he gave them an order."

"Which was?" Hawke questioned impatiently as he stepped behind Caitlin and put a possessive hand on her shoulder.

"Except for you, Hawke, every single one of us in this room is on their list for elimination."

"Mother of God," Dom whispered as he sat heavily down in the nearest chair.

After a few minutes of stunned silence, Caitlin spoke up. "Wait a minute, Michael, you said everyone except Hawke?"

"Yeah," Hawke interjected before the spy could answer. "Haynes wants me one on one. He thinks he can beat me himself in the air."

"And," Cait added quietly as she reached up and took a hold of Hawke's hand that had been resting on her shoulder, "he knows that killing the rest of us would be worse for you than taking your own life."

"So you're telling us that we're all just a bunch of sitting ducks?" Dom asked. "Because I'll be damned if I go down without a fight!"

A slight smile formed on Michael's face. "I was hoping you'd say that Dominic."

"You got a plan, Michael?" Hawke asked as he cocked a questioning eyebrow at the spy.

"Maybe, but it involves all of us, it's probably a long shot and I can't guarantee anyone's safety," he said as he looked around the table at each person. Settling his gaze on Hawke, Michael looked the young pilot directly in the eye. "And Hawke, it's going to require your blind trust and faith in all of us, especially Caitlin and Dom. Can you handle that?"

Caitlin looked up at Hawke as he mulled over what Michael had just said. His instinct was to hide them all away somewhere and go fight Haynes and any other demons on his own. However, looking down into Cait's eyes, he knew that he couldn't run away and play hero on his own anymore.

"Yeah, Michael, I can handle it, " he agreed as Caitlin squeezed his hand and gave him a glowing smile.

"Okay then, here's what going to happen….."

_TBC…_

_A/N – sorry for the tease but this little scene just came to me and I so wanted to get it out there and it gave me some time to finalize the plan. It's all ready now and I PROMISE…next chapter it all comes together (or falls apart!). _


	13. Chapter 13 - The Plan - Part 1

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

_A/N: Okay everyone, the time for the plan to come together is now. I admittedly acknowledge that these are always the hardest scenes for me to write, especially the flying and technical aspects. I hope you'll give me a little leeway here if things are not mechanically or technically correct or if they just don't seem right. I'll just ask you to hopefully enjoy the story and forgive any inconsistencies or if something seems just a tad far-fetched. __ I feel we all did that with Airwolf anyways when watching…or at least I did. It was always more about the story and characters for me. So, that being said…away we go!_

**Chapter 13 - The Plan, Part 1**

For the next hour, Archangel laid out the plan, to the smallest detail for the others. Each and every member of the team had their assignments and for things to even have a chance to work, everyone would have to be successful in their part.

Hawke, of course, was to keep his meeting with Haynes. He would fly the Santini Huey out to the specified coordinates in the desert alone. However, as Archangel was informing the team of the plan, Marella was busy sewing an almost microscopic wire into String's leather flight jacket. It would allow the rest of the members to monitor what was happening.

Michael and Marella would be heading back to Knightsbridge to work with The Committee, the White House and whoever else they needed to call up to get 'cease and desist' orders to the Zebra Squad leader. It wouldn't be easy since the squad had been instructed to accept orders from no one but Zeus who was currently considered AWOL from The Firm. "I've got contacts in Washington right now that are advising the higher-ups of the situation but since the Zebra Squad doesn't even officially exist in most circles of the government, it's not going to be easy," Michael informed the group. "For the most part, I'm spending my time trying to convince people to stop something they don't even know is out there in the first place. Not to mention the fact that having to explain to them that The Firm has lost control of Airwolf to a man who wants to use it against his own government…well, I don't have to tell you that I'm putting my own job, as well as the whole future of The Firm, on the line here."

"What about Dom and Caitlin?" Hawke asked.

"Well here's where it gets interesting," Michael said as he nervously brushed his mustache. "Marella , this one's all yours…"

"Dom and Caitlin will be coming with us to Knightsbridge," Marella began to explain before Dominic quickly cut her off.

"Uh-uh, no way," he said with a firm head shake and a wild flurry of gesturing hands. "I'm not letting String go out there by himself. I want to follow for back up!"

"First of all, Knightsbridge is the safest place you two can be right now. Secondly, you'll be there with String, Dominic…just not in person." Michael said as he saw a confused look cross the older man's face. "Just let Marella explain and then we can discuss it." Michael nodded to Marella, indicating that she should continue.

Marella took a deep breath before continuing, knowing that what she was about to reveal wouldn't go over well with the Airwolf crew, especially Hawke. "A few months ago Dom, you and Hawke took Tess Dixon to Washington to testify and if you remember, you were given a disk with a pre-programmed flight plan to install into Airwolf that would also allow us to control the helicopter from our laboratory at Knightsbridge."

"Yeah, I remember I didn't like it!" Dom said.

Reaching over and patting Dom on the shoulder, Hawke fixed a hard gaze onto Marella. "Let her finish, Dom….,"

Nodding her thank you to Hawke, Marella continued. "Well, simply put, that program was never fully uninstalled from Airwolf. In theory, we should still be able to access it from the lab and fly her remotely. Of course, to do so efficiently and safely without someone actually on board as back up would require a skilled pilot and someone completely versed in all of Airwolf's on-board systems, of which there are only three people who meet those qualifications," the dark haired woman said as she looked in turn at each of the three pilots across from her.

For a few moments no one spoke as they processed what they had just been told. Cait was the first to say out loud what they were all thinking. "Are you telling me that for the last few months, that you and Michael and The Firm have had remote access to Airwolf and her location?"

"That's exactly what she just told us!" Hawke said as he gritted his teeth. "So much for trust, huh Michael?"

"Look, Hawke, " Michael stood and faced the angered pilot head on. "Believe me or not, it's not something we ever used and even if we had, only Marella and myself even knew that the program might still be intact. In all honesty, we don't even know now if it's fully accessible but if it is and Dom and Cait can use it to operate Airwolf from our lab than we should be able to bring Haynes down and get Airwolf back to you. You should be glad the program's still there."

"Really? I should be glad that you've been lying to us for months and were probably just waiting for your chance to grab Airwolf back for yourself? It must really upset you to have to reveal your ace in the hole now, doesn't Michael?" Hawke said as he angrily walked away from the table, his fists clenched in rage. For Stringfellow Hawke, trust and loyalty meant everything and he felt as if he had just been betrayed by one of the few people on earth he thought he could trust.

"We can argue all you want about this later, Hawke," Michael said, trying to contain the situation. "Right now, we just don't have the time. Our first priority is to keep everyone safe and to get Airwolf back into your hands. If I don't have everyone's full cooperation and attention on this then that's not going to happen!"

"Hawke?" Caitlin stood and walked over to where Hawke was brooding. Reaching out she lightly touched him on his cheek to get his attention. "I know you're angry, Hawke, and you have every right to be but right now, Michael's right. We have to focus on putting Jack out of commission. When everything's done, then we can worry about how to deal with the rest of this. Please, I just want things to get back to normal. I just want a chance to have time for us but we can't do that if we don't take care of things now. "

Hawke's gaze softened as he looked into Caitlin's pleading eyes. Without saying a word, he put his arms around her and kissed her gently. "Okay, Cait," he said as he pulled away from the kiss, "for you, I'll let this go for now." Turning his steely gaze to the spy, Hawke quickly added to his promise. "However, Michael, know that when this is all said and done, we have some things to discuss!"

"Yeah, I know, Hawke… I know."

Once things had calmed down, Marella finished her instructions for Cait and Dom. Having checked the computer program before coming up to the cabin, she advised the group that she had been able to determine that Haynes had indeed moved Airwolf out of The Lair and had hidden the aircraft at an abandoned airstrip about 50 miles from the spot where Hawke was to meet him. It was assumed that the Cobras he and Hawke were to use for his proposed air fight were then transported from that same airstrip to the meet site.

Hawke would hopefully keep Haynes busy long enough for Cait and Dom to gain remote control over Airwolf and then Hawke could either destroy Haynes himself or Cait and Dom could fly Airwolf in to help bring down Haynes if needed.

"Well that's it." Michael said as Marella finished up. "It's not perfect, it's not foolproof and as I said before there are no guarantees but for now it's what we have to work with. And of course this all hinges on whether I can get the assassination squad stopped in time for any of it to matter. "

"I'll say it's not perfect!" Dom exclaimed. "Our Lady is hard enough to fly in person, much less by proxy!"

"We're counting on your and Cait's intimate knowledge of her computer systems to counterbalance that fact, Dom." Michael said. "Like I said, it's all we've got."

"We can do it, Dom." Cait said as she placed her hand over the older man's on the table. "I know we can."

Glancing at the clock on the fireplace mantle, Hawke realized their time was running out. "Dom, I have every faith that you and Cait can handle Airwolf and I know I can handle Haynes in a head to head chopper fight as long as he's not hiding any tricks up his sleeve. As for the rest of it, we'll just have to trust that Michael can do his part." Hawke cut a hateful glance over towards the spy. "Although trust isn't something I have a lot of right now for him, I guess I don't have any choice."

Getting up from his place at the table and starting to head for the door, Michael stopped long enough to address Hawke. "I guess I deserve that, Hawke, but you have to know that I would never do anything that I thought would unnecessarily endanger the lives of any of you, even for Airwolf. Regardless of whatever you may think right now, I do value your friendship. I hope I have a chance to prove that to you."

"We'll see, Michael, " was Hawke's only response. Turning back to Cait he gave her a hug and another kiss. "I love you, Cait and I'll see you and Dom when this is all over…right?"

Afraid to answer out loud, Cait simply nodded her head as she hugged String tighter.

Pulling away from Cait, Hawke took one last look around the room. "Okay, everyone, let's do this!"

_TBC….._

_Part 2 – The Execution of the Plan coming soon _


	14. Chapter 14

**Love and War**

_A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. _

**Chapter 14 - The Plan, Part 2**

It was 5:56 p.m. when Hawke touched down at the specified meeting spot. Ahead of him, he could see the two Huey Cobras sitting about 100 yards apart facing each other, both appeared to be fully equipped with chain guns and hellfires. One of the choppers already appeared to be ready to take off with its engines running and rotors turning. Hawke could barely make out a dark haired man with aviator glasses and a leather flight jacket in the pilot's seat of the far aircraft.

"Glad to see you still believe in being prompt," Hawke heard over his headset as he landed the Santini chopper.

"Let's skip the idle chat, shall we, Jack?" Hawke responded tersely.

"Hmmm, not in a good mood, Hawke? What's the matter, woman troubles keeping you up late at night?" Jack asked as he laughed . "I could understand that, she is a feisty little thing. I guess it's true what they say about red heads…"

"Keep Caitlin out of this, Jack," Hawke warned. "I told you from the beginning if you harmed her in any way, I'd make you pay. I intend to keep that promise. Now, let's get on with this."

"Fine, fine. As you can see your chopper is already waiting for you. We're going to do this just like 'Nam, String. We'll take them up on my mark and then it's no rules. Just see if you can keep up. We play this one out to the end…first one to shoot the other one out of the sky wins."

"And you expect me to just believe that this is an even fight? You know I can out pilot you any day of the week, Jack. How do I know you don't have something up your sleeve like filling my ammo with blanks?"

"First of all, Hawke, you haven't seen me in 12 years…you may have once been the better pilot, or maybe you just got lucky a few times, but things have changed since we last met. I'm not the man or the pilot I used to be, although I guess you've already figured that out. As for the chopper, go ahead and check it out…I'll give you 20 minutes to satisfy yourself that it's legit and then we go."

Taking a deep breath, Hawke removed his headset and jumped out of the Santini chopper. "_Okay, guys, we've got twenty minutes," _he spoke under his breath as he headed towards the Cobra, hoping that Dom and Cait were picking him up over the wire in his jacket. _"That should give you more than enough time to get Airwolf's systems up and running. Once I get in the air, if you hear me mention The Lady, that's my clue that I need your help. Haynes is already in the second chopper, so once I do the check, we'll be ready to go. Cait, whatever happens, remember I love you. Dom, you take care of our girl until I get back." _

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW**

Cait sat at the flight console in the lab, listening to Hawke's transmission. A shiver ran down her spine when she heard Hawke's declaration of love for her.

"Don't worry, Cait, that boy can fly rings around any other pilot I've ever seen. He'll come back," Dom comforted as he placed a supportive hand on Cait's arm.

"I know, Dom," Cait said with a slight smile for the older man. Getting herself together, she turned back towards the console. "Okay, let's see if we can get The Lady fired up!"

Before Dom and Cait could do anything at the console, Michael and Marella ran through the door of the lab with huge smiles on their faces. "He did it!" Marella exclaimed.

"You mean?..." Caitlin started but was cut off by Archangel before she could continue.

"Yes, the zebra squad has been called off. Order came down straight from the President himself. Zeus is still out there but I doubt it will take long for them to find him and bring him back to answer for his dealings with Haynes."

"Yippee!" Dom yelled as he pumped a fist in the air. "All right, Cait, let's get The Lady up and going and give String the help he needs!" Turning back towards Cait he saw a concerned look on the redheads face.

"Cait? What is it?" Dom asked concerned.

Looking over the readouts on the console, Cait shook her head. "Something's not right, Dom. We haven't done anything but the computer's telling me that Airwolf is already lit up with systems set for takeoff."

"That can't be right," Dom said as he looked over Cait's shoulders at the monitor.

"Unless…" Cait started as she suddenly realized what Jack's plan had been all along. "Dom! It's Jack…he's going to ambush String in Airwolf!"

"But the pilot in the other Cobra?" Dom asked.

"I don't know who it is, but it's not Jack. He's laying a trap for String! He must have been monitoring the radio traffic from Airwolf and speaking to Hawke from there."

"Dammit!" Michael cursed as he realized what Cait was telling them. "Caitlin, can you and Dom still get control of Airwolf remotely with Haynes piloting her?"

"I don't know, Michael, but we have no choice but to try! Even as good a pilot as Hawke is, he'll be no match for Airwolf in that Huey." Quickly running her fingers over the computer keyboard, Cait attempted to override the Airwolf flight systems.

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW **

Hawke finshed his inspection, surprised to find that everything seemed to be in order. Climbing aboard the Cobra, he put on his headset and fired up the engines. "Alright Haynes, let's get this over with." he said as the rotors came to full speed and he started to raise the copter into the air, keeping an eye on the opposing chopper as it did the same.

"Hawke!" String was surprised to hear Cait's voice break through on his headset a few minutes later.

"Cait you're on frequency!" he said back to her.

"No, Hawke, I've jammed our transmissions and put them across another channel. Only you should be able to hear me. Hawke, it's a trap! That's not Haynes in the other Cobra. Haynes is in Airwolf and he's headed your way. He's going to take you down with The Lady. Dom and I are trying to override the system from here, but so far, no luck. You've got to get out of there!" Cait said, her voice panicked.

"Caitlin, listen to me," Hawke instructed sternly as he watched the second Cobra attempt to maneuver itself into a position behind him. Hawke grabbed the cyclic and pulled up and above the Huey just barely getting out of the way of the hellfire that had been shot at him. "I've got my hands full with this other chopper…you've got to get control of Airwolf. I can handle this guy but I can't do both, not with the limited weaponry and speed I've got with this Cobra!"

"We're trying String, just hang on…" Cait pleaded as her hands flew over the console.

Recovering from the climb that he had pulled himself into to escape the weapons fire, String brought the Huey back down to an even keel just in time to see Airwolf pop up from behind a rock formation on his right side as the other Huey circled around to the left.

"Take off, Cooper, I've got him…" Hawke heard Jack's voice come over the radio. The other Cobra hung in the air for a few seconds as if considering whether to follow the order or not before turning 180 degrees and heading off. "Now, it's just you and me, Hawke."

"What's the matter, Jack? You knew you couldn't handle me evenly matched so you brought Airwolf?" Hawke asked the rogue pilot as he turned the nose of the Cobra to face Airwolf head on.

"Actually, Hawke, it just seemed more fitting that you be brought down by your own machine, don't you think?" Jack said as he laughed, his finger hovering over the weapons trigger.

"And what's to keep me from shooting you down first, right here and now?" Hawke asked.

"You won't destroy Airwolf just to get to me…she's too important to you."

"Don't bet on it, Jack." Hawke said as he heard Dom come over the other channel.

"Stall him, kid, we're almost there!" Dom urged as he watched Cait furiously work the computer.

"Look, Jack, you brought me out here to see who the better pilot is. Well, let's find out just how good you are." Hawke quickly pushed the cyclic forward starting a perilous game of chicken with Airwolf. The move surprised Haynes causing him to hesitate slightly before firing his weapons. Hawke quickly forced the Cobra down and to the right as a barrage of chain gun fire flew right past his left wing. Jack quickly recovered, maneuvering Airwolf 90 degrees to the left getting ready to follow in pursuit of the Cobra.

"Not a very smart game you're playing there Hawke," Jack warned as he pushed in the turbo button on Airwolf's control to quickly take pursuit of the Huey. Nothing happened. Pushing the red button again, Jack received the same result. A few seconds later, he was stunned as the cyclic was forced out of his hand and Airwolf began to bank to the right, flying away from Hawke on its own.

Hawke looked back expecting to see Airwolf right behind him and smiling to himself when he saw aircraft banking off to the right, away from him.

"Hawke, she did it! Cait's got control!" Dom said over the radio as Hawke turned the Cobra to follow.

"Good work, Cait! I knew you could do it, baby! Now, take her back to the airstrip. I'll meet you there."

"I'll be waiting, Hawke," Cait said with a smile as a tear rolled down her cheek but at least this time it was a tear of happiness.

" I assume Michael will have a welcome committee waiting for Haynes when he arrives?"

Michael's voice was the next to come over the radio. "You got it Hawke, they're already there and waiting. I've also got a couple of jets escorting the other Cobra back as well. "

"Good, what about the Zebra Squad?" Hawke asked.

"All taken care of…we're all safe. " Michael answered. "I still have quite a bit of explaining to do to Washington, though."

"You'll think of something, Michael. " Hawke said with a grin on his face. "And, thanks," he added knowing that the spy had put a lot on the line to help them out.

**AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW AW**

The next day: Hawke's cabin

Hawke came up behind Caitlin on the porch and gently slipped his hands around her bruised waist, kissing her lightly on the back of her neck. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

Leaning back into his embrace, Caitlin sighed as she continued to gaze out over the lake. "Better now."

"Good. Have I thanked you lately for saving my life?" He asked as she turned in his arms so she was facing him.

"Not in the last 30 minutes. You're overdue," she smiled back at him. "But you know what they say…talk is cheap!"

Hawke chuckled as he leaned in and gave her a passionate kiss. "How's that? " he asked as he pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers.

"It's a start, but you know it takes a lot to repay someone for saving your life, " she said as she put her arms around his neck and pulled him back into another kiss.

"Oh, Mamma Mia!" Dom said from the cabin doorway as he wiped his hands on the apron around his waist. "Do you two think you can break apart long enough to eat? Dinner's ready!"

"Sure, Dom!" Hawke said with a grin. "But you better set a couple more places…Michael's coming."

Looking up in the sky, sure enough a few seconds later the white helicopter belonging to The Firm came into sight. "Kid, I swear I don't know how you do that," Dom said as he headed back inside to se t a few more places at the table.

Cait and Hawke stayed on the porch and watched as the helicopter landed and Michael and Marella disembarked and made their way up to the cabin.

"Michael," Hawke said curtly as the spy approached. Even though he knew all that Michael had done for them the last few days, he wasn't entirely ready to let the spy off the hook for lying to him about the autopilot program on Airwolf.

"Hawke, Cait," Michael said back in acknowledgment. "I hope we're not interrupting," he said with a slight smile.

"It's never stopped you before, Michael. "

"Yes, well maybe this time you won't mind so much. We come baring gifts." Turning to Marella he indicated for her to hand the envelope she was holding over to Caitlin.

"What is it?" Cait asked.

"Open it," Michael instructed. "Now if you'll excuse me I'd love a glass of wine. How about you, Marella?"

"Oh, yes sir" she said with a smile as she followed Michael into the cabin leaving a curious Caitlin and Hawke holding the envelope.

"Well, do as the man said and open it," Hawke said with a shrug.

Tearing open the envelope, Caitlin pulled out a disk and a note. Opening the note, Caitlin read it out loud:

_Hawke, _

_Contained on this disk is proof that the remote pilot program for Airwolf has been destroyed. Also on the disk is the only copy of all of the intelligence that The Committee has gathered on Airwolf since Zeus was in charge. Any duplicates of this information have been destroyed, including anything that myself and Marella had on file. You are now the only one who has the schematics, plans or technical drawings created by Moffett and his staff. As long as I am at The Firm, I will do my best to guarantee your possession of Airwolf because I know that with you, Dom and Cait, she's in the right hands. _

_Michael_

"Wow" Caitlin said as she turned the disk over in her hands. "Do you believe him, Hawke?"

Instead of answering, Hawke took the disk in one hand while taking Cait's hand in the other and led her into the cabin. Walking over to Michael, Hawke handed him back the disk.

"Hawke, I…" Michael started but was instantly quieted by Hawke's look.

"Michael, I appreciate this but it's enough to know that you would be willing to hand everything over. Take it back, keep it safe. One day you may need it when I find Sinjin and I give Airwolf back. Until then I trust that you'll take good care of this information. "

Michael opened his mouth to respond and then decided against it. He realized the gift he'd just been given by Stringfellow Hawke, the acknowledgment of friendship and trust. Nodding his head he just gave the disk back to Marella to put in her bag.

"Okay, can we all just eat now?" Dom said from the kitchen as he brought out a large pan of spinach lasagna. "I'm starving!"

"You got it, Dom!" Hawke said as he led everyone to the dining room. "After all we're going to need our strength for tomorrow when we move all of Caitlin's stuff out here to the cabin. The number of pairs of shoes alone we're going to have to move is enough to tire me out just thinking about it!" he said with a grin as he pulled out a chair for the red head.

"Speaking of which, I've been meaning to talk to you about your closet situation here, String. I think we might need to add on!," Caitlin said with a wink.

"See, she's not even officially moved in and she's already got a honey-do list started!" Hawke teased back as the others chuckled.

"A toast!" Dom announced as everyone was finally seated and Hawke had finished pouring the wine. "To family!" he said proudly as he looked around the table.

"To family!" they all chimed in as they sat around the table knowing that no matter what else life threw at them, they'd always have each other.

THE END!


End file.
